Unforgiven
by ballyhara
Summary: Anna Wheeler was sent to live with her aunt, Alexandria Cameron, after her family were lost to the Ottawa. But one night, the Cameron cabin is attacked & Anna's nightmares become reality once more...
1. Don't You Worry Child

**Don't You Worry Child**

 _"Anna...Anna where are you?"_

 _Anna Wheeler, eleven years old and all dark hair with big brown eyes, hid behind a bale of hay lost in her own world of hide and seek. Thomas, her older brother, jumped out of the hay loft above and she let out a playful shriek as she ran after him. Suddenly she came to a stop at the sight of four men mounted on horses, their skin darker than her own and their faces painted with red streaks. Her father was lying on the ground, something that resembled the axe he used to cut wood protruding out his back. Her mother was crouched on the ground cradling her baby sister in her arms and it was then she looked at Anna._

 _"Run Anna!" she screamed and the child hesitated for a moment, then turned around running as fast as her legs could carry her._

Anna let out a small scream as she was jolted awake in her bunk. It was the same nightmare that haunted her...but it wasn't just a nightmare. It was a memory from her stolen childhood, one she continued to try and suppress. The whereabouts of her mother and siblings still remained a mystery; it had been determined by the Officer leading the search for them that they were most likely dead or had been sold to another tribe. After the ordeal, Anna had been placed in the care of her mother's younger sister Alexandria. John Cameron, her aunt's fiancee earned a basic living and after they were married, they moved to a cabin on the frontier. Soon after, Alexandria became pregnant with her first child and life almost resumed as normal for Anna except the nightmares continued to plague her.

* * *

"John Cameron!" Chingachgook called as he emerged from the dark trees.

"Alexandria! Set three more places" John called back to the cabin as he grinned at the sight of his old friend. "How is Chingachgook, then?"

"The Master of Life is good... how is it with you, John? " he asked as his sons's Hawkeye and Uncas followed, leading a mule laden with an elk carcass.

"Gettin' along. Yes, it is" John grinned as he shook hands with Hawkeye. "It's good to see you Nathaniel."

"Uncas!" James, Alexandria's oldest boy, shouted as he ran towards them and Uncas snatched him one hand, swinging him up onto his shoulders.

Anna watched from the window, feeling a familiar feeling of dread enter her soul as her uncle continued to talk with the Indians. She knew they were not the ones that murdered her father but all the same she felt a hostility towards them each time they visited. She hated that Chingachgook always looked upon her with pity in his eyes for she knew John had told him what had happened to her. And she did not like the strange way Uncas and Hawkeye had looked at her on their last visit the year before. For she recognized that look. She was no longer a child, now eighteen years of age and very aware of the attention men paid to her.

* * *

"If Uncas is with you, that means he has not found a woman and started a family yet" Alexandria teased as she sat down at the table.

"Your eyes are too sharp, Alexandria Cameron. They see into my heart" Chingachgook said with a small smile as Uncas eyes strayed towards Anna.

"We're headed over to Can-tuck-ee. So Uncas and I can find wives to make Mohican children so our father will leave us in peace" Hawkeye said with a grin.

"A son like me?" James called.

"No. You are too strong. Turn me old too fast!" Uncas laughed as he wrestled with James.

"May I be excused?" Anna asked flatly.

"No you may not. You'll sit and finish that venison stew that you've barely touched" Alexandria stated.

"I don't want it."

"So I hear a French & Indian army are heading south to war against the English. Folks here goin' to join in that fight?" Hawkeye asked.

"Some I think. Fool's lot if you ask me" John said.

"They are not fools, they are brave men fighting to protect us from the French and if I had been born a man, I would have been proud to join the militia" Anna said bluntly and Alexandria cast her a horrified look that she dared to contradict what John had said.

"France is the enemy of the English. Not ours" Hawkeye countered.

"Really? Do you want them to overrun all New York colony?" Anna retorted.

"Anna, I want a word with you outside" John warned and the muscles in Hawkeyes jaw twitched as the oldest Cameron girl left the room.

"I do apologize" Alexandria murmured as she stood. "Come on James, it's time for bed. Say goodnight."

"I'm sure glad that Miss Anna wasn't born a man" Hawkeye said, his voice low so only Uncas could hear as Alexandria led James into the next room.

"She is like a wild horse but wild horses can be broken" Uncas remarked and Hawkeye shoved him hard on the shoulder.

* * *

"What's gotten into you girl? You humiliate me... in my own home. Infront of our guests! Then talk about matters that you know absolutely nothing about!"

"This is my home to John! And I don't want to sit with...wild indians" Anna seethed and John's face continued to turn a darker shade of red.

"They ain't wild. Chingachgook and his boys are dear friends of mine...and you ought to respect that!"

"Indian's murdered my father!"

"They're not Ottawa" John said, his tone softer as the tears threatened in Anna's eyes. "Look Anna, I know this hasn't been easy for you...adjusting to life out here. I know we've never been.. close but I vowed to raise you as if you were my own and that's what I've done."


	2. And Darkness Will Fall

**And Darkness Will Fall**

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I shall die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take, Amen" murmured Anna as she leant on the side of the bed, eyes firmly squeezed shut. As she blew out the single candle that burned brightly on the window-ledge, she could hear James and little Sarah through the wall reciting their own prayers or at least trying to...

"Sleep well dearest" Alexandria said as she popped her head around the door and Anna cast her a small smile as she climbed into bed.

As she drifted off to sleep, Anna dreamt she was standing in the forest. The trees were so tall, but she was stuck on the ground and couldn't climb up for a better look. It was getting dark but the angel was still there, waiting with her until she found a way across. Falling now... starving. So hungry, thirsty, tired. Did they save a grave for her? She couldn't stay for too long... the other one was there too. Waiting for Anna in the dark. The one with the bow and arrows... A shrill scream suddenly ripped Anna from her slumber and she bolted upright first thinking it had been herself screaming from another nightmare. But dark shapes rushed by her window and she could hear Johns shouts from outside. Pulling on her boots, Anna suddenly stopped short at the sight of smoke billowing from underneath her door.

"No..." Anna felt her heart almost burst as she realized the cabin was on fire. Yanking open the door, she could see bright orange flames dancing from the kitchen. One of the beams collapsed sending a thick cloud of dust that mixed in with the smoke. Anna grabbed the heavy bronze figurine of a deer that had belonged to her mother and smashed her window sending shards of glass everywhere. Holding her sleeve over her mouth, Anna climbed out and rushed around the front expecting to see her family but instead she was met with the sight of half a dozen Ottawa with their backs turned standing with flaming torches in their hands. Her aunt was face down on the ground with a tomahawk in her back and her uncle lay a few feet away, his throat cut and his scalp missing. Anna's vision began to swim and she staggered backwards into the cover of darkness the cabin provided. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she bit hard down on her lip until it drew blood to prevent her sobs from being heard.

* * *

Anna Wheeler wanted to die.

She had fled into the woods, hiding herself amongst the long grass until morning and as the sun rose, Anna walked numbly back towards the cabin seeing it had fallen in on itself, the remains of charred wood scattered on the ground. A dead child's hand protruded from the ruin and she could see a fragment of a dress. Little Sarah Cameron had been crushed to death. Anna collapsed onto the ground next to her dead aunt and she sat there for hours, unable to cry anymore as she stroked her bloodied blonde hair. It didn't feel real, it was as if she was trapped in another nightmare and any second, she would be awake. But the dried blood that stained her fingers and the smell of burnt flesh that mingled with wood told her otherwise. They were all dead...and she was still here.

"No! No..." Jack Winthrop shouted as he ran towards the ruins of the Cameron's homestead.

"Don't!" Anna screamed suddenly on her feet as Jack crouched down over John's body. "Don't disturb him! Don't!"

"Good lord..." Jack's voice failed him as he stumbled towards Anna and steered her by the shoulders towards the woods. "Anna...you have to come with me...back to the Fort. You shouldn't be here..."

"No! I won't leave them - " Anna shouted as she ran forward but Jack grabbed her around the waist hauling her back.

"Anna...we'll take care of them I promise...I promise."

* * *

"I must receive proof more conclusive than your opinion before I weaken our defenses by allowing militia to withdraw" Lieutenant-Colonel Munro said.

"Your fort will stand or fall depending on Webb and reinforcements, not these colonials' presence" argued Jack, the veins throbbing in his neck.

"I judge military matters, Captain Winthrop, not you."

"That judgment is not more important than the men's right under agreement with Webb to defend their farms & families...I was there at John Cameron's cabin. Burned out. Everyone murdered except for the oldest girl who managed to flee. It was the Ottawa! They're allied to the French!"

"Nothing of what you've said would lead me to believe than was you saw was other than a raid by savages bent on thievery!"

"This was no raiding party! Anna saw them for bleeding sake!" Jack shouted.

"That's enough Mr Winthrop! Know your place" Duncan Heyward warned and Jack clenched his fists.

"The militia stays here. And that's my final word on the matter" Munro stated as he turned around to leave but hesitated as his eyes locked with that of a young woman's.

She was standing in the doorway, long dark hair that was the same shade as his Cora's tied back in a loose plait. It was clear by the expression she wore on her face that she had heard everything and it was only when Jack called her by name that Munro realized she was the girl he had been talking about.

"So this is justice for my family? You will do nothing... I should have listened to Nathaniel. Perhaps the colonials would do better making peace with the French if this is English law" Anna said, her tone set hard.

"Madam! That is sedition!" Duncan exclaimed.

"Major!" Munro intervened and Duncan cast him a horrified look. "Anna, please accept my condolences for your loss but... you must understand that there is not enough certainty in the events that took place last night to outweigh British interests in this fort. Mr Winthrop will escort you back to wherever you came from."

* * *

"You shouldn't have said what you said Anna. They could have had you beaten and shot for treason" Jack said in a low tone as he led her by the arm. "And what were you thinkin' bringing up Nathaniel's name like that?"

"I was thinkin' how sorry I was to believe that the English were here fighting to protect us. The sooner French guns blow the English army out of America, the better it will be for all of us - " Anna bit back and Jack stopped her in her tracks.

"Stop it. Stop tryin' to get yourself hung, you hear me? I know you're angry and so am I but there's nothin' we can do now. I'm tryin' to protect you Anna..do you really think your Aunt an' Uncle would want to see you tried for sedition?"

"Don't Jack Winthrop" Anna warned, her voice almost breaking as she broke free from his grasp. "Don't even go there!"


	3. The Devil's Mark

**The Devil's Mark**

"I want to see this General Webb for myself -"

"Do you really think that he will take the time to talk with the likes of you? That bastard lied to my face that the men would be granted leave if the settlements were attacked. His word means nothing Anna!" interrupted Jack.

"So what am I do.. just resign myself to accept Munro's decision! Bury my family and move on?" Anna asked, her dark eyes swimming with fury.

"It is the cross you must bear Anna...but it is no one you have to carry alone... I've been givin' much thought of what will become of you now that your Aunt and Uncle, God rest their souls, have passed on. You have no kin left in these parts and a lone woman livin' on the frontier can be dangerous business..." Jack hesitated for a moment as Anna looked right at him. "What I'm askin' Anna is...well.. that you.. consent to be my wife. That way you're taken care of and well...I could use the company. I know I'm not much to look at but..I'd be kind to you and...well I think it would be a good match - "

"I consent" Anna said quietly, her tone impassive as Jack blinked at her in astonishment not quite sure he had heard her right. "I will consent to be your wife, Jack Winthrop."

"Well I'm glad Anna... truly" Jack said after a long moment and Anna nodded feeling numb as she silently accepted her fate. As he kissed her cheek and left her to make the necessary arrangements, Anna looked out onto the fields beyond the fort and wondered if her life had ever been destined to be follow another path. She was young, yes but not naive. The prospects of her marrying well were non-existent and though Anna harbored no romantic feelings for Jack, she knew she would have been a fool to turn him down. Yes he was kind and treated her like his equal but he was at least ten years her senior and they both knew this would be a marriage of convenience, not one born out of love if there was ever such a thing. Jack Winthrop had ensured her survival and thats what mattered.

* * *

"There's a small parish in the Officers quarters at Albany, that's where we will be wed. Mr Heyward will be accompanying us on the road as he has been asked to provide a safe passage for the Colonel's two daughters from Albany to the Fort. We set out in the morn" Jack said as he rested his musket on the table.

"We are to be wed so soon?" Anna asked, feeling her heart skip a beat at the sudden revelation.

"Yes..the sooner the better as my old Pa would say. I could be dead next week for all we know and between you and me... I don't fancy goin' to my eternity box as an unmarried man" Jack laughed and Anna turned her face away to look at the dying embers.

"If we are goin' to Albany, you might aswell try and talk with General Webb again" she commented and Jack knelt down infront of her.

"And if I do...will that be the last I hear of the matter?" he murmured and Anna met his gaze steadily resisting the urge to slap him as she nodded once.

"Then I will. For you..."

* * *

"How can I marry a pretty little girl when I got no cloak to put on? Oh, soldier, Oh, soldier... Won't you marry me before the fight comes home? How can I marry a pretty little girl when I got no shoes to put on?" sang Jack loudly as he bent down to avoid a low branch.

"Do you insist on singing all the way to Albany?" Duncan called from his horse and Jack laughed as he cast a look backwards.

"I'm gettin' married today Major. You cannot dampen my spirits... How can I marry an ugly little girl when I got a pretty wife back home?"

"You do realise that you are going to have to put up with this nonsense for the rest of your life if you agree to marry that buffoon" Duncan muttered as he drew his horse up beside Anna's. She felt her face flush red as Duncan shook his head, then brought his horse into a gallop so he was ahead of them both, Jack's offtune singing drumming into his skull. "How can I marry a pretty little girl when I got - "

"Maybe you should be quiet for a while Jack. You are makin' enough ruckus that anymore could hear us for miles!" Anna warned watching the woods around them.

"Is it wrong to be joyous my dear?" Jack called as a flock of birds suddenly descended from the trees as if they had been disturbed.

"Just keep your cheers down" Anna said with wide eyes just as a red arrow shot through the trees behind her and pierced Jack right through the chest. Her horse reared up in fright and Anna was screaming before her mind fully registered what she had just witnessed. As Jack fell backwards off his horse, Anna suddenly felt a searing blow and looked down, her face paling as she saw an arrow protruding from her shoulder; the sound of a musket fire surrounding her.

"Miss Wheeler!" Major Heyward cried out ahead of her and Anna made a choice, tugging at the reigns to steer her horse into a full run.

* * *

"I need help! Please!" Duncan shouted as he lifted Anna in his arms and carried her through the small crowd of soldiers, feeling suddenly numb and uncertain. Her head rolled slightly against his shoulder and he gripped her tightly, listening closely to the sound of her breathing against his neck. She had been conscious until the last leg of the road to Albany where she had keeled over and fell off her horse. He had been forced to leave the other horse behind and ride with Anna settled infront of him just to keep her upright which proved to be an incredibly difficult task. He did give a thought to poor Jack Winthrop lying dead on the road miles behind them but there was nothing he could have done to save him; his life was already lost the moment that arrow pierced his heart.

"Oh my goodness... Duncan!" Cora Munro gasped at the sight of him carrying a bloodied woman into the courtyard.

"Cora..stay back. I do not wish you to see this!" he shouted as a man met him at the soldiers entrance and ushered him inside.


	4. There's A Storm Coming

**There's A Storm Coming**

 _"Anna...Anna..."_

 _"Mother...don't leave me!" Anna called as the darkness overwhelmed her. "Mother..."_

The world was spinning again and the next thing Anna was aware of was the sensation of being lifted, then lying down on a hard surface with something soft beneath her head. The fabric of her dress was torn and the shaft of the arrow pulled free. Anna felt the rush of blood and with it, pain. A hand touched her forehead and she opened her eyes to see Duncan talking to her, although she couldn't make out the words.

"Is there any rubbing alcohol?" said another voice and Anna felt herself losing consciousness for a second time.

 _"Anna...Anna...come find me..."_

 _"Mother...I can't see..."_

"Stay with me!" Duncan shouted as he glanced down at Anna and noted the pale hue of her skin.

"This will hurt a lot...so I need you to hold her down" Liam called as he took a small blade from his belt.

Duncan forced himself to look away as Liam dug into the wound in Anna's shoulder, removing the misshapen arrowhead. He examined it closely and when he was satisfied that nothing had been left behind, he sighed in relief and nodded at the Major. Duncan looked back down at Anna and saw that she was looking right at him. Liam moved towards the range and lit the oven, laying the knife directly in the flame. He had been forced to dig around inside the wound with a knife and though it wasn't an ideal situation by any stretch of the imagination; the alternative was letting her bleed to death or die from infection. He had initially been afraid she had been shot with a poisoned arrow and the results would have indeed been fatal. Duncan felt the blood drain from his face as he held her shoulders down as Liam pressed the hot metal against the open wound. It sizzled, and Duncan continued to watch grimly as Liam cauterized the edges of the wound as quickly as he could.

* * *

"The woman Mr Heyward brought in...did she survive? What happened to her?" Cora asked with wide eyes as she followed Liam down the corridor.

"Please Miss Munro...I'm merely a soldier. Go talk with Duncan. He will surely answer any questions you may have."

"But you saved her, yes?"

"She's alive but...I'm not a Doctor Miss Munro. I only did what I could. But it might not be enough... the rest is up to her now. I will tell you this though...that girl showed more courage than some men do on the battlefield. Didn't even cry out once" Liam muttered and Cora felt something stir in her blood as he left.

* * *

"Duncan will not speak of what happened?" Alice Munro asked as she climbed into bed and Cora shook her head.

"He tells me it is none of my concern and it will all be forgotten once we are wed in London. I had to remind him once more that I have not given him an answer yet. But instead he gives me this... pained look as if it was I who shot him with an arrow..." Cora murmured.

"And will you not have him? He does love you Cora" Alice said with a hint of a smile.

"I do not know. He is a good man but my feelings...don't go beyond friendship -"

"Then he cannot be your true love" Alice said with a seriousness to her tone that made Cora suddenly laugh.

"And what do you know about true love I wonder?" she teased as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"True love should be passionate and wild. It should burn and consume. I have always seen myself falling in love with a dashing stranger... of course he would carry an air of mystery about him but I know he would love me -"

"Alice...life isn't the same as it is in stories" Cora murmured. "You are seventeen now.. no longer a child. Our father is fighting a war...i suspect that girl brought in today was a consequence of that. Perhaps it is now the time to put away such childish notions"

* * *

Anna sat outside in the warm sun despite Duncan's orders that she was to remain in the room assigned to her. He did not want anyone to see her for she knew many of the soldiers had seen the face of war before but never war made on women. Her shoulder had been dressed and her arm placed in a makeshift sling to avoid further strain to the muscle. She had stared at her burnt blistered skin with morbid fascination remembering the agonizing pain but she had not screamed... As she tried to tie her hair with a ribbon using her good arm, every twist pulled on her wounded shoulder and defeated, she let her hair fall down her back.

"Let me" Cora said and Anna looked around in surprise at the finely dressed woman standing behind her.

"Thank-you" Anna murmured as the woman gently lifted her hair from her shoulders and started to braid it.

The doors to the main gate opened and half a dozen soldiers marched into the far side of the courtyard. Anna felt herself stiffen as her eyes settled on the lone Indian that followed them. His hair was shaved into a Mohawk and he wore a shawl over his bare chest, a tomahawk strapped to his waist. He hesitated for a moment, dark eyes locking onto both women. Anna felt her breath catch as he rested a hand on his tomahawk and then he was gone... like a ghost in the forest.


	5. Fawn To The Slaughter

**_Fawn To The Slaughter_**

 _"You only need one man to love you. But him to love you free like a wildfire, crazy like the moon, always like tomorrow, sudden like an inhale and overcoming like the tides. Only one man and all of this."_

 _― C. JoyBell C._

"Tomorrow, we journey back to Fort William Henry with Colonel Munro's daughters. The Mohawk scout..the one they call Magua will accompany us."

"I don't want to return to the Fort, Major. I want to remain here... in Albany" Anna protested and Duncan shook his head at her audacity.

"Your fiancee was a Captain and under crown law, the British army are obligated to lead an inquiry into his death. You are a key witness and will be required to answer all questions put to you. Do you understand?" he stated and Anna directed her gaze to the floor for a moment, then nodded once.

Jack Winthrop...she had not given him a second thought since her arrival in Albany and felt the guilt wash over her like a rush of water.

"Has Jack's body been recovered?" she asked.

"Four British regulars set out the day before yesterday to recover Mr Winthrop's remains" Duncan answered somewhat feeling useless as tears welled up in Anna's eyes. "There was nothing that could have been done to save him...but I saved you and that's what I intend to tell the Colonel."

* * *

Anna's legs felt like heavy lead weights as she stepped out into the courtyard and saw Duncan at the gate sharing words with Alice. The Mohawk scout stood to the left on his own and she could feel his eyes suddenly on her as she moved forward.

"Anna..." Cora called from behind and she turned to see the older Munro sister dressed in a fine blue dress, her dark hair pinned off her face. She came forward and linked arms with Anna as they walked. "Is it true then? You are to return to Fort William with us?"

"Ladies...we must make haste" Duncan called to them just as she opened her mouth to answer.

"Promise me we will talk later... I wish to know everything there is know about you" Cora whispered and Anna felt a strange feeling of dread come over her as she watched Duncan help Alice mount her horse.

"I promise" Anna said absentminded as Cora squeezed her good arm in reassurance as she left her.

"Anna, since you cannot ride by yourself.. you will ride with Magua" Duncan called suddenly and she felt her blood run cold as the Mohawk scout was suddenly there extending one hand for her to take. Anna lifted her head and forced herself to look at him but as soon as she met his unflinching stare...she wished she hadn't.

"Come" he stated and an internal battle raged within Anna as she tentatively placed her hand in his.

* * *

"Can we rest soon?" Alice called, the mix of wearing a heavy dress in the scorching heat taking its toll.

"Yes of course" Duncan answered and he dug his heels into his horse as he rode to catch up with Magua and Anna. "You there.. scout! We must stop soon. The women are tired."

"Paleface is a dog to his women. When his women want to eat, he lays aside his tomahawk to feed their laziness" he muttered and Anna bit down on her lip trying to control her nerves as Magua steered the horse around to face Duncan.

"Excuse me. What did you say?" Duncan asked, his eyes narrowed at the Mohawk.

"Magua said this is not good place to stop. Two leagues from here. No water 'til then. That where we stop. Better place" he said sharply as the horse snorted.

"No. Stop in the glade just ahead! When the ladies are rested, we will proceed. Do you understand?"

"Yes!" Magua said sharply and Duncan nodded, satisfied with himself he still had authority over the natives. As they covered the short distance to the glade, Anna felt herself tense as Magua eased her back against him and she could feel his hot breath against her face. She did not look at him, the blood drumming in her ears.

"Before you die know that I will cut out your fathers heart and put under the knife the rest of his seed so it is wiped from this earth forever ..." he hissed and it was only then that Anna looked at him, horror in her eyes as he shoved her from the horse.

"No!" she screamed as he leapt down on top of her and grabbed a handful of hair, his tomahawk raised to strike.

A shot was fired and Magua dropped his tomahawk as he bolted into the cover of the trees. Anna clutched her chest as she tried to breathe but her heart was beating so fast she thought she was going to die as Duncan slowly lowered his musket, his hands trembling as he realized his shot had missed its target. Suddenly the sound of a branch breaking loudly nearby had him raising his musket for a second time and the muscles in his jaw twitched as three figures emerged onto the trail.

"Identify yourself!" Duncan shouted and Hawkeye shared an amused look with Uncas.

"We were trackin' a deer, heard the shot.." Uncas started when his voice trailed off as Anna slowly climbed to her feet, one arm clutching her shoulder as if she was hurt. Fresh dirt streaks marked her face and she was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Hell..you didn't run off and join the damned militia did you Anna?" Hawkeye said dryly recalling her comments the last time he'd seen her.

Chingachgook stepped forward, resting a hand on Hawkeyes arm, a silent gesture for him to stand back. Something was wrong...terribly wrong. She reminded Chingachgook of a baby deer he had found in the forest many years ago. The animal had been abandoned by its mother and he could not forget the look of sheer terror it gave him. It had pierced his soul and he had let it go.. unable to bring himself to kill it; Anna possessed that same look.

"Do you know these colonial scouts?" Duncan said thought gritted teeth as Cora and Alice watched from afar in shocked silence.

"We ain't scouts. And we ain't in no damn militia" Hawkeye bit as Chingachgook gently placed an arm around Anna and sat her down on the ground.

"Why are you not at home? Where is your Uncle?" he asked as her eye's brimmed with tears and she shook her head.

 _Something was terribly wrong_

* * *

 _Authors Note - I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their lovely reviews and I can't tell you all how glad I am you are enjoying "Unforgiven" Last Of The Mohicans is my all time favourite film and I am thoroughly enjoying writing my OC into the LOTM-verse. I just want to make it clear (as I'm not sure if I did in this chapter and the last) that Magua thinks that Anna is Colonel Munro's daughter at this point along with Cora and Alice (without revealing to much)_


	6. Anywhere But Here

**Anywhere But Here**

 _They're all dead._

Anna didn't realise that three little words could have such finality to them. She had seen Hawkeye and Uncas react to her bluntness of the matter of fact way she said those words, their facial expressions telling her they were feeling several emotions at once..shock, sadness, anger, fear, helplessness...but Chingagook remained stoic.

"Don't you feel anything?" she choked as Chingagook reached under her good arm and hauled her onto her feet.

"Come" he said and Anna tried to fight against his hold on her but he did not react, just gently continued to steer her in the direction of Hawkeye and Uncas.

"Stop him Duncan!" Cora shouts could be heard and Hawkeye turned around, only noticing then the two white women in the distance behind the Major. The dark haired one dismounted her horse and rushed towards them, her face a mask of confusion and fear.

"Release Miss Wheeler or I will shoot!" Duncan ordered as he raised his musket for a third time and in turn Hawkeye aimed his rifle at him.

"Her name ain't Miss Wheeler. It's Anna Cameron and she's comin' with us" Hawkeye seethed.

"She is to return to Fort William under British law -"

"Hang British law!"

"Why is Anna so important to you?" Cora asked suddenly and Hawkeye hesitated as his eyes settled on her, something passing between them as she met his gaze.

"She's family" Uncas said simply as he came forward to stand next to his brother. "We take care of our own."

"Except she isn't one of your own and neither is he!" Duncan exasperated.

"I am Hawkeye, adopted son of Chingachgook, of the Mohican people!"

"You may possess the traits of a savage sir! but you are a white man nonetheless -"

"Duncan that is enough!" Cora exclaimed. "These men have done nothing to want such behavior. If Anna wants to leave with them, then let her go."

"But I have my orders Cora! Your father - "

"Let me deal with my father. Your only concern should be finding that scout" Cora stated and Duncan watched gormlessly as she walked briskly towards Anna.

 _She's family_

Uncas words haunted Anna; the irony that wild Indians might be the only people in the world she had left. She watched as Cora approached, her hair coming undone from her bun, those brown eyes with specks of green wide and concerned.

"Do you wish to leave with these men?" she asked and Anna swallowed hard realising they were all watching her now.

"Yes" Anna said, feeling strange and distant. _I will leave with them but then I will go my own way. Away from here. Away from the damned frontier._

"Then it is settled" Cora said, a coldness in her tone as she turned and headed back towards Alice.

"Sure says somethin' about a man when his woman has more sense than he does " Hawkeye retorted as he shouldered his rifle.

Uncas placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him that it was time to leave. But as Hawkeye turned to follow him, he found himself looking back at Cora and caught her gaze once, then held it. There was something about her that drew him to her like a moth to the flame. Beautiful yes but that wasn't enough to tempt Hawkeye to settle with a woman. He wanted spirit and Cora was full of fire, much like Anna except she wasn't as headstrong and immature.

"Cora..I'll remember you" Hawkeye muttered to himself as he disappeared into the thick woodland.

* * *

"We'll be staying in a Delaware village for the winter. You should be comfortable there" Hawkeye said.

"Comfortable? I'll be surrounded by Indians, I wonder if any of them plan on murdering me.." Anna exclaimed infuriating Hawkeye even more as she walked behind him. _I'd rather sleep in a barn with the pigs than stay in a Delaware village..._

"The Ottawa that attacked the cabin weren't just after you Anna. It's time you got over your own self importance and realise that every Indian doesn't want your head on their wall!" he bit, then wished he hadn't said anything as Anna launched herself at his back attempting to pummel him with her fist.

"Stop Anna!" Uncas called as he grabbed her around the middle and hauled her off him as fury burned in her eyes.

"I watched the Ottawa murder my father! They burned my home and murdered the only family I had left! They shot down Jack Winthrop on the road to Albany, then proceeded to try and kill me. Where do you think I got this?" she screamed tearing at the neckline of her dress and ripped off a bandage, revealing an ugly wound on her shoulder. "I was almost scalped by a Mohawk scout when you found me! Don't you dare tell me that I'm full of my own self importance you bracket-faced muckworm!"

Hawkeye would have laughed out loud at Anna calling him a bracket-faced muckworm but the sudden revelation she had thrown at them shocked him to the core. Uncas let go of her as she crouched down on the ground and Hawkeye stared the black crusted wound that marked her skin. He could tell it had been cauterized and turned away, anger and guilt washing over him. He had berated and attempted to provoke her when he should have been there to protect her...He looked at Uncas and he could see the same anger, the same guilt reflected back in his brothers eyes. The night they had left the Cameron's cabin, Uncas had spoken about wanting to take Anna as a wife. They had remained nearby over the few days that followed delaying their journey to Can-tuck-ee until Hawkeye talked Uncas out of the idea, that he wouldn't be happy marrying such a woman that was opinionated and unfeeling. If only they had remained nearby a few more days...things might have been different, they might have been able to save their dear friends.

"Uncas, where are you goin'?" Hawkeye called as his brother pulled out his knife and moved swiftly down the trail they had just climbed.

"I'm goin' to track that Mohawk scout and kill him" Uncas called back, his tone severe and unrelenting.

"Uncas" Chingagook shouted as he ran after him and Hawkeye cursed loudly looking over at Anna.

"C'mon...I need to you to get up" he said and much to his surprise, she climbed onto her feet without any argument. She had both hands clasped under her chin and was looking down at the dirt, the curtain of brown hair obscuring her face. Taking off his shirt, Hawkeye gently wrapped it under her arm and across her shoulder to cover the wound. She was like a glass doll he was scared he would break as he fastened the last knot but she didn't fuss and let him guide her down the trail.


	7. Forever Not Yours

**Forever Not Yours**

The search for the Mohawk scout had been uneventful; they had tracked him for about a mile but the trail went cold as they reached a narrow stream. Unable to determine which direction to follow, Uncas had been forced to swallow his anger and accept defeat as they turned back.

 _I should have been there to protect her._

It had been shortly after Anna's seventeenth winter Uncas had started to look at her differently. He had last visited the Cameron's cabin two years prior and only remembered Anna as a thin awkward sort of girl with a small head. But the moment he walked onto the farm and saw her down by the stream collecting water, everything changed. It was almost as if she had grown into herself... her head was still smaller than average, her nose long and thin but her delicate features and big brown eyes had drawn him in. She possessed a beauty that was deemed unconventional and Hawkeye had likened her to a doe he had seen in the forest. But Uncas thought she was the prettiest woman he had ever laid eyes on and had affectionately named her Deer Woman after the tales his father had told him of a being that could appear as a young beautiful woman, or as a deer.

"So your name's not Cameron then?" Hawkeye asked quietly and Anna glanced at him.

"Rick Wheeler was my father... and after he died, I kept the name...it's the only thing I have left of him."

"I didn't know..I lost my own ma & pa and my sisters to a raid by Indians. It was Chingachgook who found me with two French trappers."

Anna looked at him in surprise, stopping for a moment as he stared at her. Shame flooded her as she thought how she had judged him for what he was when all this time, he had been the same as her. Both of their families had been butchered by Indians and while she was filled with hate, he was not. Infact he had become one of them and she wondered for a moment if perhaps she could learn something from Hawkeye...that he could perhaps help her find some closure.

"I'm sorry" she murmured.

"No point in being sorry...I do not remember them. I was only one or two."

"I was eleven. My mother told me to run so I did. Soldiers found me two days later with no shoes and a broken arm. I'd fallen down a ravine."

"The long grass at the end of this field...we stop there for the night" Uncas called back to them, eyes settling on Anna for a moment as she met his gaze.

* * *

"My father's people say... at the birth of the sun and of his brother, the moon, their mother died ... so the sun gave to the earth her body, from which was to spring all life. And he drew forth from her breast the stars he threw into the night sky to remind him of her soul" told Hawkeye as Anna looked up at the slate grey clouds and, in between, the fields of stars. "So there is the Camerons' monument ...your folk's and my folks', too, I guess."

"That's beautiful" Anna said softly as Uncas crouched down, his rifle rested flat across his lap.

"You best turn in for the night Anna" he said and she nodded, settling herself down amongst the long grass.

"I'll take first watch" Hawkeye muttered as he stood and Uncas nodded at him as he left.

Sleep came to Anna quickly and as Uncas watched her, he wondered how she was able to do that, fall asleep so quickly and easily. Somewhere off in the distance a twig snapped, and the chorus of crickets fell silent. A second snap, and Uncas rose silently, rifle in both hands and ready to fire. But the sound wasn't repeated, and soon the crickets resumed chirping. Uncas stayed standing and watchful for many long minutes before resuming his crouched position.

"Mother..." Anna said and Uncas looked to her as she continued to mutter something he couldn't make out.

Suddenly she bolted upright and let out a blood-curdling scream, arms and legs thrashing about as if she was fighting an assailant Uncas couldn't see. He managed to grab hold of her arms as her breathing started to return to a normal rate, the realization it had just been another nightmare dawning on her.

"Ssshh" Uncas soothed as he moved Anna's hair from her face and a strange strangled noise escaped her lips as she dug her fingers into his shirt as if afraid that if she let go, she would fall. He held her tightly as she buried her face into his chest and after a few minutes, she slowly eased out his grasp wiping her tears with the heel of her hand. Suddenly she was aware that Uncas was watching her in that strange way again... it was that look a man gave to a woman when he wanted her and Anna felt her cheeks grow hot as she averted her gaze to the ground. Uncas raised a hand and traced the contours of her face, then tucked a finger under her chin gently lifting her head to look at him. She could feel a heat rise within her at his touch and her heart was beating profusely. Uncas wore the hint of a smile on his face as he inched closer and Anna suddenly froze as he was about to kiss her.

"Goodnight" she said quickly lying back down, turning away from him and Uncas frowned.

"I want you to be happy Anna. I want to make you happy" he said softly after a long moment. "I want that more than I could find words to speak."

"Please Uncas..don't say anymore" Anna murmured afraid that if she turned around...she might let him in.

* * *

The Delaware village sat across the vast body of water ahead of Anna and she could see the array of wigwams that stood tall along the shoreline. Several trails of smoke rose into the sky and she looked back at the forest behind, almost wanting to disappear back into the wilderness as fear entered her heart. Chingachgook sat in the first canoe with a native man who would provide them a passage across to the village. She watched as Hawkeye and Uncas talked with a Scottish tradesman who seemed to be in charge as two more native men waded into the water dragging the second canoe to the bank. Anna hadn't meant to travel this far.. if she was going to run, she would have to do it now. She took a few steps towards the forest and pretended she was interested in looking at the wild flowers.

"Anna!" Hawkeye called and she closed her eyes for a moment before turning around to face him. "Don't wander off...stay where I can see you."

"Is that lass yer sister or yer wife?" the Scottish tradesman asked, his eyes straying towards Anna as she turned to look back at the forest.

"What she is ain't none of your concern" Hawkeye warned. "Lets jus' settle on a price for gettin' us across the water."

Anna waited a few moments and carefully edged further forward, squinting as the sun shone through the treeline. She had grown used to being with Chingachgook, Hawkeye and Uncas but it was one thing spending three days in the wilderness with them and another living for six months in a Delaware village. She still caught Uncas looking at her but after the night spent in the long grass, he had kept his distance. It mattered not as soon he would find a wife in the Delaware village. The thought seemed to bother Anna and it frightened her that she wasn't entirely sure of her own feelings towards Uncas. He was Indian so it was impossible for her to even contemplate marrying him but she remembered the heat that rose in her belly as he inched towards her...something she had never felt before, certainly not with Jack Winthrop...


	8. Ghosts

**Ghosts**

"It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny"

― Jean Nidetch

As Anna leant against a tree trying to gain control of her breathing, she watched the rain falling lightly through the treetops to the ground below. The dash into the forest was one of madness and uncertainty. She hadn't been thinking at the time about what she was going to do about food or where she was going to go, it had just been the sheer need to get as far away from the village as possible. She had looked back once in time see Chingachgook fall into the water, almost comically as he tried to climb out the canoe, his shouts for her to come back still ringing in her ears. She'd ran like as fast as she could, crashing through the thick bushes, swerving left and right convinced Uncas or Hawkeye were in grabbing distance behind her. But somehow Anna had managed to lose them but in turn she was now lost herself. Somewhere above in the trees, a bird cawed loudly and she let out a small scream, then quickly covered both hands over her mouth listening for any movement but there was none. The dry dead branches cracked like pistol shots under Anna's feet as she moved further into the forest until she reached a small spring and drank from it before dropping onto the ground quite ungracefully, completely exhausted. The evening light was fading and the breeze died with the coming of night. Anna shivered as the air grew sharp and cold and she huddled against a tree in an effort to stay warm.

 _"Anna...I need you to wake up...wake up and run my little lamb. Run._ _"_

 _"I want to stay here where it's warm and safe..."_

 _"Wake up...wake up.."_

Anna's eyes shot open at the sound of chattering above her, then suddenly a hand grabbed her by the hair and forced her onto her knees. A hopeless wail escaped her lips as she saw a small band of men surrounding her, some Indians and some white traders. Around her neck, one of the men threw a rawhide noose, jerking it so tight she could scarcely breathe and hauled her onto her feet. He pulled on the neckline violently forcing her to follow him meekly as a dog and she realized she was trembling with fear as she saw ahead of her huddled on the ground was a group of women, their mouths gagged, hands bound behind their back. Some of the women were white whilst others were of native descent. The Indian shoved her down beside them and pulled out a dirty cloth from his pocket, tying it around her mouth. His hands groped at her breasts and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out what was happening as tears escaping the corners of her eyes. Suddenly a white trader ran forward and smacked the Indian hard in the chest shoving him onto the ground. Anna stared at her twisted savior in horror and howled in fear as he came around behind her, pulling hard on her arms and bound her wrists with rope.

"Don't touch the merchandise" he growled at the Indian lying flat out on the ground. "These women ain't here for your enjoyment."

* * *

The women forged north in a single line until the sun was high and the skin on Anna's neck had been rubbed raw as she was led at the front. She had counted eight women altogether, some of them wore blank expressions almost as if they had withdrawn deep inside themselves whilst one girl who looked no more than sixteen couldn't stop crying. Anna soon worked out for herself that these women had been stolen from their villages or taken in a raid to be sold to neighboring tribes and it didn't bear thinking about what would happen to them. Sold as slaves, beaten, raped... Anna would rather throw herself off a cliff and meet a quick demise than let that happen. She was terrified and trying desperately not to show it as the men came to a halt. They remained still watching as a large doe stood drinking in a pool of water. It lifted it's head just as the oldest Indian took his bow and fired an arrow into its hide. The animal let out a shrill cry and fell down, its legs twitching as he drew out the dagger from his belt. Squatting down beside the deer, he plunged the blade under its lower jaw and cut swiftly. Anna felt her stomach twist and turned away, tears threatening as he continued to cut into the animal and started to skin it.

* * *

"There's a Huron village just a few miles west of 'ere. We might be able to sell one or two of 'em."

"Huron's are not friends of the Iroquois. We not go there" one the Indians snarled.

"Shut your redskin mouth. We set out at first light...get the women settled for the night under that birch tree over there."

Anna struggled backwards as the Indian shoved her onto the ground with the others and tore the cloth out of her mouth. He pulled out his knife and pointed it at her, a silent warning that if she tried anything, the last thing she would see was his blade. Her head pounded like someone had dragged a wagon wheel over it.

"Is there anyone lookin' for you?" the red haired girl whispered next to Anna and she slowly lifted her head to look at her.

"No" Anna muttered, bitterness in her voice as she realized what an idiot she had been. How she wished she could take it all back..

"My brother's will come for me" the girl said numbly and Anna closed her eyes listening as the girl continued to murmur the same sentence over and over.

* * *

Anna trailed behind the other women as they were led into the Huron village. She heard shouts of abuse although she could not understand the words, she heard the ferocity in their voices. The Chief sat on a raised platform, his dark wrinkled face a stark contrast to his long white hair. He looked to be in his late seventies and wore numerous silver & gold medals, gifts from French, English and Dutch governors. The white trader was talking with him in French and Anna felt her heart sink as the red haired girl was brought forward. She stood still, eyes to the ground as the white trader pulled at her tattered clothes and the Chief nodded to one of the Huron women whose arms were laden in fine furs. It became clear to Anna that a trade has just been exchanged and she watched helpless as the red haired girl was led away into a wigwam. As they were leaving the village, Anna strained her neck to see a white woman skinning what looked like a rabbit. It was then Anna froze, eyes wide in shock and she found her feet wouldn't work as she stared at the woman's face.

"Walk" the Indian hissed and yanked at her neckline.

"For chrissake girl, move or we'll all get a good lashing" the woman behind said, her voice laced in a thick Irish accent and she kicked her.

Anna felt as though the world has opened up around her and the sky was falling in on itself as she was led away. For the woman she recognized.

 _It was her mother._

* * *

 _Authors Note - thank you all for the amazing words! And MohawkWoman you are indeed correct, I love Eric Schweig! That line I saw in The Broken Chain and I really wanted to weave it into the story so very well spotted! I really hope to continue this story for as long as I can :)_

 _I just wanted to put a note out that I HATE using the term "redskin" but I feel its necessary for the story to reflect the time they live in._


	9. Miles To Go

**Miles To Go**

It was her mother.. Anna was sure of it. She looked withered and old, her raven hair marked with grey, skin darkened by the sun and her face sunken, as if the life had been sucked dry from her very bones. Seven years of not knowing whether she was dead or elsewhere...the woman was still her mother and in a way she wasn't. Anna had no idea what had happened to her, if she had lost who she was and became an Indian herself. Anna wanted to scream and cry at the Ottawa why! they felt it was their right to take away her mother from her. Hatred burned bright in Anna for the Indians once more. A storm rumbled overhead as the women huddled together between some large rocks in an effort to stay warm. Anna hadn't eaten in two days and her stomach rumbled painfully as she rested her head against the cold stone.

"Wičhá khúta hena" the Indian wearing the red bandanna across his forehead hissed and Anna jerked her head up as he grabbed his rifle.

"I see 'em. Get down Cheveyo" the white man hushed as he scrambled forward towards the women and grabbed hold of the sixteen year old girl first gagging her. Anna twisted her head away as he shoved the dirty cloth between her teeth next and tied it around the back of her head. She craned her neck to see what the men were all watching and suddenly her heart leapt as she caught a glimpse of Uncas, carrying his rifle in both hands as he walked through the rocky trail below them. She jerked forwards despite being bound and gagged, letting out a muffled cry as she saw Hawkeye next. Suddenly the Indian girl that sat at the edge of the rocks cried out and Hawkeyes head snapped up just as the white trader crawled over the other women and pulled out a small blade, shoving it into the base of girls skull snuffing out her cries. Anna turned her face away, squeezing her eyes shut in terrible fear as he laid the girl out onto the rocks, her brown eyes staring wide open and dead.

"You hear that?" Hawkeye called to Uncas.

"Sounded like an animal. Noise carries all over these canyons" Uncas remarked and Anna felt what little hope die inside her as they moved on ahead until she could no longer see them. _They came looking...and they'll never find me. I'm lost like my mother. I'll die out here..._

* * *

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green...when I am king, dilly, dilly, You shall be queen..who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so? 'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so..." the English woman sang softly in the firelight.

The men seemed strangely content sitting around the fire listening to the girl sing, the other women tied a distance away to some thin trees. Anna realized there was a rapport of sorts with some of the men and their captives. The English girl in particular Anna had noted was never beaten or shoved like the others. She couldn't stop thinking about the poor girl murdered back at canyon...they had just left her body there to rot. And Uncas and Hawkeye had been none the wiser that she had been so close...Anna felt so alone right then. All her life she had been a selfish being. Hawkeye, Uncas and Chingachgook had offered her a home and she has thrown it back in their face, running away acting as if they had been forcing her to come with them all this time. The truth was she had wanted to stay but felt as though she was betraying her family by associating herself with them.

Indians had murdered those she loved and Anna had let that define her.

* * *

Chingachgook watched from the higher ground as the white woman's song came to an end. He had sent his son's on ahead to continue the search for Anna as they were faster and younger and would cover more ground. As he circled back, he had found several sets of footprints in the mud and only chose to follow them as there was sets of smaller prints. He could see the women now, sat behind some trees about twenty feet from the men but he couldn't see their faces. He scrambled across the ground on his hands and knees until he reached the sloping ridge above the trees, the moon serving him just enough light. He frowned as he noted the women's hands were bound behind their backs and it suddenly dawned on him that they were being held captive for trade. Unfortunately he had seen this before...stolen women and girls paraded through villages and settlements like horses sold onto the highest bidder. The pale girl with dark hair turned and Chingachgook held his breath for a moment, before closing his eyes and inwardly thanking the Wakan Tanka for guiding him safely back to his white daughter. After he learnt of John Cameron's death, he had vowed to fulfill his promise to his dear friend all those years ago...

 _"Chingachgook...I need your word that if anything happens to me you'll take care of my family. They ain't got no one in this world but me" John said quietly._

 _"I give my word John Cameron. I will look after them."_

Scrambling carefully down the ridge as silent as he could, Chingachgook hesitated for a moment. He had to get Anna but he couldn't risk the other women seeing him incase they alerted the men of his presence. He did not wish to leave them behind to this fate but in his heart, he knew he could not bring them with him. He was only one man armed with only a sheathed dagger and his gunstock club whilst the men around the fire were many and carried rifles. He made the difficult decision to bide his time until they had fallen asleep and then he would come for Anna...

* * *

 _"The world is on fire. And you will burn" Anna's mother laughed, her body dressed in animal skins and her face painted with red markings._

 _"Mother...please don't let them take me" she screamed._

A hand clamped over Anna's mouth, cutting off her frightened squeak as she felt herself being dragged backwards and behind a large tree. She fought against her assailant for only half a second before her eyes locked with Chingachgook's. Anna froze and shook her head in disbelief as he reached around her back and cut through her bounds. The relief that surged through her body was overwhelming and she flung her arms around his neck, the sound of her sobs muffled as she finally let go of all the pain and anguish she had been holding in for days. Chingachgook hesitated for a moment before allowing himself to embrace her in full.

"Come" he murmured as he eased her back and held out his hand.


	10. Dead Girl Walking

**Dead Girl Walking**

Chingachgook watched in silence as Anna traced her fingers over the welts in her neck where the rope had rubbed her skin raw. They had walked about five miles until they reached the small creekbed; a rendezvous point he had chosen for Hawkeye and Uncas to meet him when the night was over. As Anna drank some water from the creek, Chingachgook went to hunt for some food and came back with a dead rabbit. Anna had stared at him numbly as he cut up the meat and held a raw piece out for her to take. He'd done so himself enough times to know a little wouldn't hurt and the protein would provide enough energy to get her back to the Delaware village. She gagged and choked down the first mouthful, then closed her eyes and ate everything he gave to her.

"Chingachgook..." Anna started as she raised her head to look at him. "Tell Uncas and Hawkeye that you found me in the woods, that I was lost...tell them anything but the truth. I want to forget...what those devils...did to me. I just want to forget it all. Promise me Chingachgook that you will never speak of what you saw."

"Anna, did they...did they force themselves on you?" Chingachgook struggled to contain his rage as the darkest thoughts of what she must have suffered at the hands of these men plagued his mind. Anna shook her head as he clasped a hand around the hilt of his dagger prepared to go back and slaughter each man.

"One of them tried.. but he didn't. The white man beat him" she murmured.

"Anna..." Chingachgook started but she met his gaze, eyes brimming with tears.

"Please don't tell them. I just want to pretend it never happened. I'm so sorry for running away Chingachgook. Please... just let me forget" Anna broke down and Chingachgook held her firm in his arms. "Just let me forget..."

* * *

"I'll be damned" Hawkeye said under his breath as Uncas took off at a run at the sight of Anna sitting on the ground with their father.

"Anna!" Uncas called out and her head jerked up, eyes wide as she looked to Chingachgook for reassurance as he stood.

"She is safe, my son" he called raising a hand for Uncas to stay back. "She is very weak and needs to rest. But know that she is here with us now."

"What the hell were you playin' at woman...runnin' off like that?" Hawkeye almost shouted as he approached and Anna turned her face away. "Me and Uncas jus' spent near a full day climbin' up and down rocks..almost breakin' our necks lookin' for you - "

"Leave her be" Chingachgook warned and Hawkeye hesitated, the muscles in his jaw twitching as he met his father's stare.

"Where did you find her?" Uncas asked, his gaze still fixed on Anna as she stared at the broken twigs on the ground.

"About six miles back west. She said she meant to head back towards the settlement we passed through a few miles from the river...but she got lost" Chingachgook lied and Anna felt a surge of relief wash over her as she closed her eyes for a moment.

"We thought someone had taken you or worse.. you were dead! Why'd you run off?"

"I'm sorry" Anna said cowed as she climbed onto her feet with trembling legs. "It was careless and dangerous... I realise that now."

"Damn right you should be sorry you empty-headed woman!" Hawkeye bit and Anna's face flushed red. "I knew you couldn't put aside your ignorance."

"I can't just change like you want me to Nathaniel!"

"Change? You're a damn hypocrite.. tellin' yourself you're angry for what happened to your folks and blamin' every Indian you meet for the injustices of one tribe when you'll gladly accept the help of my Pa when it suits you! We looked after you and you took off like we were a bunch of savages! My Pa is too good a man to speak his true mind an' my brother's blinded by what he wants... but I ain't them Anna. I should have let that fool on the road take you back to the Fort."

* * *

"My white son did not mean those words" Chingachgook murmured as he walked beside Anna.

"He hates me and he has every reason to" she said numbly. "I looked down on you all, called you dirty Indians. You should have just left me - "

"My white daughter will not become a martyr" Chingachgook stated as he forced her to halt for a moment. "You must be strong and put aside your old life. This is a new life Anna. One you will make with Uncas if you choose him."

Chingachgook watched as she met his gaze steadily and cast his mind back to the night Uncas had approached him with the subject of taking Anna for a wife. He had been shocked at first but it had not come a complete surprise for him for he noted the way his son had watched her. The year before they had stayed with the Delaware Indians and there had been a woman, Lomasi, they had become acquainted with. Uncas had grown fond of Lomasi as she was kind and comely, Chingachgook ached for grandchildren of his own and had hoped Uncas would settle with her but he had not shown any interest of doing so.

 _"I know she is not the wife you would have chosen for me father but Anna would bring me much happiness" Uncas said._

 _"And what of her happiness Uncas..she is not one of our women, she is not used to our ways"_ _Chingachgook countered._

 _"But if she chooses me?"_

 _"Then you will have my blessing... and I hope you will produce many children.. I have waited long enough to be a grandfather" Chingachgook laughed._

 _"You're forgettin' she's white. Any children you have will be half-breeds. That really what you want Uncas?" Hawkeye said bluntly._

 _"I don't care about that" Uncas said, his voice taking a sharp edge._

 _"Yeah well other people do. The whites wouldn't look upon this with kind eyes. An Indian and a white woman? Anna might be pleasant to look at but she ain't exactly reasonable. I say your gettin' yourself in a whole lot of bother for nothin'...they ain't much chance she'd agree anyways" Hawkeye stated._

"Uncas deserves better...he may not see it now but one day he will meet the woman he was meant to be with and when he does.. she will make him forget that he ever cared for me" Anna murmured and Chingachgook hesitated as he watched her walk on ahead alone. He could sense she had already given up. The fire that once burned in her was gone. Anna was damaged...fragile...changed. And he did not know if there was a way to bring her back from that.


	11. Safe And Sound

**Safe And Sound**

Anna was usually quiet..withdrawn, Uncas knew in his gut there was something bothering her more than Hawkeyes ill words and he intended to find out what it was. He sat behind her in the canoe and longed to reach out...pull her into his arms but instead he remained still. A small crowd of people had gathered at the shoreline as their canoes drew closer to the village and Uncas could see Lomasi, a young woman he had befriended the year before, amongst them. Hawkeye and Chingachgook arrived first, dragging the canoe to the bank and Anna felt immediately exposed as she climbed out into the shallows. The Delaware Indians were all watching her, not with malice but curiosity as she pushed her windswept hair from her face and followed Uncas to the shoreline.

"Uncas!" Lomasi called as she came forward and Uncas grinned as he embraced her tightly.

Anna stood back, nervously rubbing her arm with one hand as she watched the young Delaware woman place a kiss on Uncas' cheek. She was dressed in clothes woven out of deerskin, her raven black hair tied in two plaits that fell to her waist.

"It had been too long since I saw your pretty smile" Uncas said.

"I hope you will stay longer this time Uncas" Lomasi said, then her smile faltered as her eyes settled on Anna. "Who is the wasicun winyan?"

"That is Anna...she will be staying with us throughout the winter" Uncas murmured as he led Lomasi by the arm away from the others.

"Why? Can she not live with the wasichu's?"

"Her family was murdered by the Ottawa...her Uncle was like a brother to my father -"

"Chingachgook has adopted her?" Lomasi interrupted with wide eyes. "A wasicun winyan?"

"Her name is Anna, Lomasi. Do not call her white woman."

* * *

Anna knew if her Aunt was still alive, she would have said the wigwam was cosy instead of small. There was a firepit with a pot in the centre and a bearskin rug that would serve as a place to sleep. She couldn't imagine there would be much warmth at night and longed to be sleeping back in a cabin with a bunk. She sat for awhile and just stared at the woven interior, only disturbed when Chingachgook came in, his arms laden with a material of some sorts.

"This is for you" he said simply and Anna unfolded the cloth to see a deerskin dress with matching leggings.

"You want me to wear an animal skin?"

"There are no other clothes for you to wear" Chingachgook stated and Anna traced her finger over the dress. "I know this is hard for you, I see that."

"I'm trying Chingachgook...I am" she murmured.

"I know" he smiled sadly, placing one hand against her cheek for a moment. "You must know you are safe here my white daughter...I promise."

* * *

Anna sat down at the fire with an expression of dazed detachment on her face as Uncas' eyes settled on her, a smile playing on his lips at her attire. Her dark hair was loose down her back but if she had worn it in two braids, he could have sworn she could have almost passed for a Delaware woman. Hawkeye had disappeared into his wigwam with Awenasa earlier that afternoon and he had not been seen since. Uncas was well aware what his brother was doing with her but told his father that Hawkeye had gone hunting with some of the men. An elderly woman poked Anna on the back with her bony finger and she flinched, eyes wide as she turned around. The woman shoved a plate of meat into her hands and shook her head whilst talking in her native tongue.

"She says you're too skinny...that you must eat more" Uncas called over the fire and Anna looked at him.

"Imala is right. You will not be able to bear a healthy son otherwise" Fala, the medicine man's wife commented.

"My mother was built like me and she had three children...I think I'll be jus' fine" Anna muttered resting the plate on the ground and Uncas frowned as the others began to talk again amongst themselves.

"Do not mind them. They like to talk" the young native man beside her murmured and she raised her head to look at him. "I am White Wolf. What are you called?"

"Anna..." she said with hesitation.

"Anna..your name means 'mother' in our language" he said with the hint of a smile. Anna studied him for a moment in the soft firelight; his face was strong and handsome, his black hair brushing just above his shoulders and he wore a short chain of beads and feathers around his neck. He looked more tanned than copper skinned and she wondered if he had white blood in his family. What struck her most about him though was his gentle eyes. Hawkeye emerged from his wigwam then, dressed only in his breech-cloth's, a hard expression on his face as he watched Anna and White Wolf talk from a distance.

* * *

 _"If you love me, dilly, dilly, I will love you._ _Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly, And the lambs play._ _We shall be safe, dilly, dilly, out of harm's way..."_

 _"I'm going to make you scream" Cheveyo hissed in her ear, his hands pulling at her blouse as the English girl continued to sing._

Anna woke up in a cold sweat, her clothes sticking against her skin. Her heart was pounding as she closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, turning around only to flinch in fright to see Hawkeye sitting across from her.

"You always talk when you sleep?" he asked as she stared at him.

"Get out Nathaniel" Anna said, too exhausted to muster the energy to face another argument with him.

"Saw you talkin' with White Wolf earlier" Hawkeye stated. "You should steer clear of the likes of him."

"I'll talk to White Wolf if I please and anyone else for that matter."

"You listen to me" Hawkeye hissed and grabbed her by the arm. "White Wolf's a wanted man..he's responsible for the killing of nine soldiers down at station camp creek. I would've thought he would have disappeared into Mexico by now... His Pa tried to lead a rebellion against the soldiers at the Fort a few years back but he was shot dead infront of White Wolf. The man's unpredictable, still hellbent on revenge...so you best leave him be, you understand?"

"You think he would hurt me? He was _kind_ to me Hawkeye which is more than I can say for you...besides isn't this what you wanted, for me to be friends with the Indians? And you had the audacity to call me a _hypocrite -_ "

"Jus' stay away from him" Hawkeye warned and Anna let out a frustrated cry as he stalked out the wigwam.


	12. Fear The Unlived Life

**Fear The Unlived Life**

Anna sat down by the river alone, staring out at the forest across the water as the sun began to rise. She had been awake for hours, unable to sleep after Hawkeyes outburst. She did not understand why he continued to make her business his when it was clear he disliked her so much. Before Anna had told herself she deserved his wrath but he had entered what was now her home without consent and proceeded to intimidate her. A boundary had been crossed and she was now filled with resentment for Hawkeye. She picked up a small stone and tossed it into the water, watching as it rippled twice, then sank.

"I brought you some food" Uncas said behind her and she turned around.

"You can't sleep either?" she asked quietly as he crouched down and handed her some cornbread.

"Too many thoughts in my head" he murmured. "What about you?"

"Bad dreams.." she said which was partially the truth.

"My people believe that if you hang a dreamcatcher above where you sleep, it catches all bad dreams in its web."

"I wish it was that simple Uncas...but they aren't jus' bad dreams, they're memories mostly about my mother..."

"I used to have dreams about my mother after she died" Uncas started and Anna looked at him. "I was only a boy and the dreams used to frighten me...my father told me it was my mother's way of telling me she was okay and she was waiting for us in the Spirit World..."

"How did she die?" Anna murmured.

"It was the typhoid fever that took her...nearly half of my village succumbed to the sickness " he said, his tone distant as he looked across the water.

Anna wrapped her hand over his and he didn't react at first, just kept staring ahead with a serious frown. Then he looked down at her hand on his and then at her face, sadness in her doe-like eyes. The amber light that shone behind Anna made her look almost other-worldly for a moment and Uncas traced a finger down her cheek. She looked at him steadily as his arm slid along her back to guide her closer as their lips met with hesitance on her part and impatience on his. His hand behind her head entangled itself in her hair, Anna's mind going blank as she focused on the living being so close to her. She felt her heartbeat flutter and quicken as they parted a moment later, Uncas' hand guiding her palm so it was flat against his chest.

"Anna...I want you to become my wife...to share my homefire and my bed."

* * *

Unca's words spun over and over like a wheel in Anna's thoughts as she lay alone in the wigwam. When Jack Winthrop had asked her to marry him, she had felt nothing but as she replayed the moment with Uncas, the way the light bounced off the water, his hands in her hair, he had been so close...heat rose within her and her mouth quirked upwards in a hidden smile. The moment had been ruined as the old woman Imala had appeared from her wigwam then, clearing her throat and spitting tobacco onto the ground. Uncas had only smiled coyly at Anna and raised his eyebrows as he helped her onto her feet and they had both returned to the village. _But he's an Indian...I can't..._ Anna rolled over and settled her hands under her chin squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. She wanted him, she couldn't lie to herself anymore...no man had made her feel the way Uncas made her feel. Did it really matter if he was an Indian? What she worried what other people outside would think? Or what her family would make of it if they were here now? Her Aunt and Uncle had loved Uncas like he was family and that brought her some comfort to think they would have at least approved...as she continued to struggle to make sense of what to do, an internal battle raging between her own judgement and what her heart wanted...Lomasi stood in the entrance, her arms folded and her face like stone.

"Uncas belongs with a woman from his own nation, not a wasicun winyan" Lomasi scrunched up her face as if the words themselves filled her with a bad taste.

"Excuse me? I don't - " Anna started, her eyes growing wide as Lomasi let out a frustrated cry and chucked a handful of dirt at her.

"Do not lie wasichu whore! I saw you with Uncas!"

"Lomasi!" White Wolf shouted as he heard the commotion from outside. "Lomasi! Akȟó! Akȟó!"

Anna sat in shock as Lomasi ran away, sobbing angry tears as White Wolf rushed in, startled by what he had just witnessed. He shook his head and crouched down, his fingers lightly brushing the sprays of dirt from her clothes.

"You should tread more carefully Anna...Lomasi is like wildfire when she is enraged."

"But I did nothing!" she protested loudly.

"I heard Uncas' name mentioned. What happened?" White Wolf asked and Anna hesitated for a moment, Hawkeyes words in her mind.

"Uncas..wants to take me as a wife...she must have seen us at the river..." she murmured as White Wolf lowered his eyes and she frowned. "She called me a Wassichi weya?"

"White Woman" he said, his tone distant as he stood. "So you are to be Uncas' woman? Lomasi will not take that news kindly."

"It is nothin' to do with Lomasi...and I am not Uncas' woman. I have not even given him an answer yet."

"Lomasi will soon be Uncas' woman if you do not choose him and it will be another man who will take you as a wife" White Wolf said and Anna felt her face flush as he stared at her for a moment, dark eyes penetrating hers and then he cast her a half-smile as he turned to leave.

* * *

Anna's stomach was in knots as Uncas raised his hand for her to come towards him. She was nervous, more nervous than she had ever felt and found she couldn't make eye contact as she met him halfway. He seemed equally as nervous, both of them not saying a single word for a minute or two until Anna took a deep breath and raised her head.

"I have thought about what you asked me and I - " Anna's words cut off suddenly by the sound of frantic shouts from the embankment.

"Stay here" Uncas stated as he rushed forwards and hesitated as he saw Hawkeye; his face bloodied and a fresh cut across his bare chest.

"They've taken Lomasi! Whites and Indians on horses!" Hawkeye shouted and Anna felt her blood run cold. "Rally any men you can find that can fight!"

She blinked in stone cold shock as Uncas raced back towards the village, shouting in his native language that she could not understand. She turned and met Hawkeyes stare for a few seconds, his breathing hard and she watched as he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Get back to the village and find my Pa!" he called and Anna nodded, fear coursing through her for she knew exactly who the men that had taken Lomasi were.


	13. Revenge

**Revenge**

"I will cut them down" Chingachgook hissed as he grabbed his gunstock club.

"Why did they come here? I thought they sold the girls to the villages - " Anna asked breathless as she tried to keep up with him.

"I stole you from them and they come here lookin' for fresh meat" he said, his tone relentless as he ran ahead.

Anna pulled her hair from her neck, beads of sweat sticking to her clothes as she looked around the village. Half a dozen Delaware men headed in the direction Chingachgook had taken, rifles and daggers in their hands. She felt her breath catch as she saw Uncas and he hesitated for a moment, nodding once to her.

"Anna!"

She turned to see Fala beckoning for her to come with her and Anna looked back once more only to find that Uncas had gone.

* * *

"Is there nothin' that can be done? Surely you can send out some of the men to track them!" Anna questioned as she followed Fala to the river.

"The men we have must remain here...defend the village! What if the wašinicu's come back...decide to take more of our girls?"

"It wasn't jus' white men that took Lomasi, there were Indians too!" _I should know..._ Fury grew in Anna as Fala dismissed her and stalked off.

Six long arduous days had passed and not one man had come back. She couldn't imagine carving out a future now without Uncas, Chingachgook, and despite all her dealings with him, she even wished Hawkeye a safe return ... White Wolf had been a comfort to her and provided a welcomed distraction for a while but the nights were the worst, every little noise from outside jolting her wide awake. She prayed to God that they would come back...As she watched Fala disappear into the distance, she suddenly felt the strange, instinctive sensation of being watched that can never really be explained or fully understood. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickled into goosebumps, and she took out the small knife she carried now _just incase..._ Anna stood listening for a sound other than the river. Suddenly a twig snapped very loudly somewhere behind her and she spun around knife in hand.

"Anna..." White Wolf struggled to say as he stumbled out of the woods and she ran towards him as he fell onto his knees, clutching his bloodied shoulder with one hand.

"Christ White Wolf...what happened?" she asked frantically as he grabbed hold of her with one arm.

"Just get me back to the village" he moaned and she wrapped her arm around his back as he struggled onto his feet.

* * *

Anna sat in her wigwam in silence watching as White Wolf applied sphagnum moss to his shoulder. She had wanted to get him help from Antinanco, the medicine man but he had refused. She could tell he had been shot, seeing the clear exit wound where the bullet had went clean through.

"Why won't you tell me what happened? Who shot you?" she eventually asked and he sighed heavily.

"Soldiers from the Fort. They shouldn't be here" he seethed and Anna saw a deep rooted anger in his eyes, one that might have rivaled her own hate for the Indians at one point in time. She had never seen him like this, Hawkeyes words of warning filled her mind then and she hesitated as he turned his face away once more.

"Did you shoot them? Because of what the English did to your father?"

"What do you know about my father?" he snarled and she suddenly retreated backwards in fear as if he was about to strike her. He sighed again and buried his head in his hands, all the while Anna remained still, wide eyes watching his every move. Her knife was just below her belt and she could just about reach it if need be. "Tokalah wasn't my real father...a dirty wasichu soldier raped my mother and the other wasichu's made him watch...after he swore to kill every last one of them."

They sat in silence and Anna felt her stomach twist as his words. What could she possibly say to him? He wanted revenge and rightfully so for what those monsters did to his mother. He blamed the soldiers at the Fort for the unspeakable evil a few men carried out years before, just how she blamed every Indian for the dealings one tribe did to her family. He was so alone and lost, if anyone could help him, it was her. She understood the pain he carried...Anna reached out and placed a hand on his back, then recoiled back again as White Wolf leapt onto his feet as if she had burned him and tore out the wigwam.

"I don't want your pity!" he roared back at her and stopped short as he saw soldiers on horseback fast approaching the village.

* * *

Hawkeye stood at the edge of the hill that overlooked Fort William Henry. Uncas and his father sat with the four women they had managed to rescue from the white and indian slave traders. The other men from the Delaware village had all been lost in the shoot-out save for one who died from his wounds two days later. Lomasi and three other women, had been caught in the crossfire and had perished. Just the thought of seeing them lying bloodied and dead turned his blood cold. He never wanted to see a sight like that again. Uncas had not spoken for three days after they buried Lomasi and the others. But it was his father who had instructed they were to provide a safe passage for the remaining stolen women back to the Fort where they would be looked after. The one called Diana, a short stout girl with blonde hair, kept chattering about another girl that had just vanished into thin air and Hawkeye was convinced she had been beaten mad. But Chingachgook knew fine well who the girl she was talking about was but he did not say a word.

"We will return home soon, my son" Chingachgook muttered as he placed a hand on Uncas' shoulder.

"I carried Lomasi's body... I put her in the ground, how do I tell her mother that?"

"You have to...she must know her daughter was taken care of..."

"The girl that ran away...Cheveyo went lookin' for 'er..but she was too quick for him...jus' like a deer.." Diana trailed off and Uncas raised his head to look at her for a moment, something in her words pulling at him as Chingachgook remained still.

"There was no other girl with yous. Now hush it" Hawkeye called from his vantage point.

"Cheveyo liked 'er. I heard him talkin'...what he was gonna do with 'er..." Diana murmured.

"Enough!" Chingachgook shouted as he stood and Hawkeye frowned in bewilderment as his father stalked off into the woods alone.


	14. Who We Truly Are

**Who We Truly Are**

"Over there!"

White Wolf scrambled back towards the wigwam, veins throbbing in his neck as he grabbed his personal effects including his rifle. Anna watched in horror as he turned and he took aim at the first soldier on horseback. Suddenly she flung herself on top of White Wolf in an attempt to disarm him but his elbow collided with her face and she fell to the ground.

"It is a good day to die" he shouted as he charged forward.

"No! White Wolf don't!" Anna screamed as he fired a shot and the soldier tumbled off his horse.

It was chaos as the Delaware Indians fled in all directions, shots being fired all around them. A screaming woman carrying a small infant in her arms ran past her and Anna hesitated as she watched her flee towards the direction of the woods. It was then she saw one of the foot soldiers take aim at the woman and without thinking, Anna rushed forwards and stuck him in the back with her knife. He dropped the rifle as he cried out in agony and she staggered back in shock, the blade falling on the dirt. She felt as though time had slowed down as she raised her head and saw another soldier standing a few feet away, a stunned look on his face as recognition struck her.

"Anna Wheeler?" Liam called out in astonishment just as White Wolf rode by on the dead soldiers horse and whacked him on the head with the butt of his rifle.

"Come with me!" he shouted and Anna felt as though her mind had left her body as she hauled herself onto the back of the horse.

* * *

Hawkeyes gaze settled on the oldest Munro girl as she cleaned the small gash on Diana's arm. Her striped skirt was marked with dried blood and dirt from working in the infirmary, strands of dark hair coming loose from her bun but she looked just as beautiful as he remembered. Uncas remained silent as Alice settled herself down next to him and Chingachgook stood as Major Heyward entered the room with Colonel Munro.

"From what I gather from Mr Heyward, you gentleman are not in the militia" Munro said.

"That's right...we were jus' passing through as it were" Hawkeye said and Cora glanced at him.

"But you still took it upon yourselves to bring these girls back to safety?"

"We couldn't jus' leave them. I've been called a savage before but I sure ain't no brute" Hawkeye half-smiled as Duncan narrowed his eyes at him.

"Please before you leave...take what you need for our powder stores...perhaps some food for the road" Munro stated.

"Thank-you sir" Hawkeye nodded.

"Must you leave so soon? You should at least stay a few days, gather your strength. You must be tired" Cora enquired.

"You're more than welcome to stay on" Munro agreed.

"Can't hurt. Besides gives us a chance to check in some of our boys. See how they're holdin' up " Hawkeye nodded to his father.

"And how is Miss Wheeler? I noted she isn't with you" the Major asked.

"She is well" Uncas answered simply as he stood and Cora eyeballed Duncan.

"I'm glad to hear it. That poor girls been through enough with losing her family and her fiancee in a matter of days of one another...tragic business" Munro muttered.

"Fiancee?" Hawkeye frowned as Uncas turned his back.

"Jack Winthrop, the poor soul. He was a good lad. The Lord granted a small mercy that Anna did not have to see his demise."

Duncan remained very still as Cora looked at him, a silent warning in her eyes for him to speak no more about Anna. Her father only knew so much, Duncan had lied and said Anna had been knocked unconscious from her horse when the attack happened. That she had seen nothing and therefore couldn't stand as a witness.

"Please pass on my regards to her" Cora turned, her cheeks flushing a little pink as she looked at Hawkeye.

"I will Miss Munro" he murmured with the hint of a smile.

* * *

Anna awoke from a dream so abruptly the adrenaline surged through her head, making her dizzy and blurring the line between asleep and awake. In the dream she'd been standing by the river, blood on her hands as Uncas just stared at her with accusing eyes. It was even more unnerving than the more violent dreams she'd had lately, and she got to her feet quickly, looking around for White Wolf. But he was nowhere to be seen, even with the bright moonlight above filtering through the trees and providing enough light so she could see for a short distance. The longer she stood alone in the darkness, the more the adrenaline surged and she could hear her breathing start to catch in her throat.

" _White Wolf_ _"_ she finally whispered as loud as she dared, fear gripping her heart as she cast wide eyes around the area. Suddenly she sensed movement behind her, and heard the slightest of rustles as an arm came out of nowhere and grabbed her around the waist. A hand clamped over her mouth, cutting off her frightened squeak as she felt herself being dragged backwards.

" _Quiet!"_ White Wolf whispered sharply as she tried to speak, her words muffled. His grip on her waist tightened, and the hand over her mouth turned her head to the right so she could see what he was seeing. She caught and held her breath as she saw flaming torches in the distance heading in their direction. He slipped his hand off her mouth and moved it to her shoulder, squeezing tightly and pulling her backwards until her head touched his. She could feel the side of his face pressed against her head, lips almost touching her ear as he spoke in an almost silent whisper. "Follow me an' stay quiet."

She nodded and reached up to grab hold of his hand on her shoulder as he let go of her waist and started to move backwards. Hand in hand, she didn't dare look back as White Wolf pulled her into a run and she wanted to ask where they were going, but as the sound of the English voices entering the woods reached her ears, she decided she didn't care.

* * *

 _Three Days After_

"Saw the son of a bitch ride off with his Indian squaw. Killed five of our boys" Captain Murdoch reported as Duncan gawped at him.

"But we have a company of men out searching for them, yes?" Colonel Munro asked.

"Yes sir. We got soldiers up and down the Delaware river hunting them. It won't be long until we find them and bring them into custody."

"Yes...That is all. You are dismissed" Munro stated.

Liam remained back from the others, his head bandaged from the injury he had sustained from White Wolf. Duncan shared a few words with the Colonel before he left, then approached Liam who shifted back nervously unable to look him in the eye.

"Major, there's somethin' you ought to know...that weren't no squaw they seen.. it was Miss Anna Wheeler."

"What did you say?" Duncan exclaimed, eyes narrowing at Liam as if he had gone mad.

"It was 'er Major. She was dressed in one of them deerskin's but it was 'er for sure."

"Have you revealed her identity to anyone else?" Duncan asked after a long moment, disbelief laced in his tone.

"No Sir. No I have not. But half a dozen men witnessed her stabbing Private Marshall. She only did it as he was about to shoot down a squaw with her wee one -"

"No I cannot accept that. A British soldier is incapable of showing such brutality towards women and children!" Duncan stated, his face red with anger.

"I saw it with my own eyes Major! He got what was comin' to him as far I am concerned..." Liam lowered his voice. "Marshall's still in the infirmary but he might not be able to walk again. She could hang for that Major... if they catch her. I don't want to see a woman walkin' to the gallows."

* * *

 _Authors Note - again thanks to all my reviewers, really glad you're all still enjoying this story! To my anon reviewer, I'm not a hundred percent sure to be honest but I'd imagine some soldiers would be riding on horseback during the war. Hope you all enjoy what I have planned next for Unforgiven :) x_


	15. Flames To Dust

**Flames To Dust**

 _I want to pull away when the dream dies_  
 _The pain sets in and I don't cry_  
 _Flames to dust_  
 _Why do all good things come to an end_

Dim daylight peeked through the broken window in the outbuilding, and Anna leant back into the warmth just behind her, vaguely aware that it was breathing. Her eyes flew open and she looked down at the arm draped around her waist, hand pressed flat against her belly, and she realized that the sound of breathing was accompanied by the sensation of air blowing rhythmically on the back of her neck. She scrambled in a mad fury to get out of the tangle of arms and her own hair. Her elbow struck something behind her, a nose or chin, and White Wolf awoke with a grunt and a curse on his lips as she sprang to her feet.

"What are you doing?" she hissed and he blinked up at her in surprise, which faded quickly to annoyance.

"Gah! Woman what th'hell is the matter with you?"

"What did you do, wait until I fell asleep? Of all the low-life, backwoods..." she picked up one of his moccasins and threw it at him, making him duck and cover his head with an arm. She dove for the second moccasin, but he moved faster and kicked it out of her way.

"You were cold" White Wolf said and she hesitated as he looked at her. " I would never touch you...not unless you wanted me to that is.."

"Well I don't... want you to thank you very much" she turned away, her cheeks scarlet as he shook his head, a playful smirk on his face.

"I wasn't being serious Anna" he said as he walked over to the window and looked out. "We can probably stay here one more night. I can catch some fish -"

"And then what White Wolf? We can't keep running like this. Uncas - "

"Uncas might be dead. They might all be dead Anna" he said, his tone hard as he faced her. "You have to make a choice, you come with me or leave."

* * *

"You lie" Uncas hissed unable to think at that moment as Duncan gawked at him.

"Why on earth would I lie about something like this?" he exclaimed as Hawkeye slowly met his stare. "I'm setting out at first light with a company of ten men to assist in the hunt for Miss Wheeler and the Indian fugitive. I cannot interfere with British Law but I can at least ensure she stands a fair trial if she is found - "

"You will not take her" Uncas snarled. "You will have to kill me first."

"Is that a threat sir?" Duncan narrowed his eyes at the Mohican who met his stare evenly, his fingers brushing the hilt of his dagger.

"Get. Out" Uncas growled and Duncan's face turned a darker shade of red as he swallowed hard but left the room. Hawkeye watched as Uncas let out a frustrated noise and stuck the blade viciously into a wooden panel on the door.

"He ain't worth it Uncas."

"Easy for you to say. It's not your woman facing the noose!"

"Don't you start with me brother" Hawkeye warned. "My bet the Indian they're lookin' for is White Wolf. He shot up them soldiers at the creek a few years ago and he wouldn't think twice 'bout doin' it again. I warned Anna to stay away from him...I told 'er! I'm sorry but she's gone Uncas."

"So I've jus' to turn my back on her like you have?"

"If White Wolf's smart, he'll have 'er halfway to Mexico by now...Uncas I know you don't want to hear it but you should let Anna go...if it's a wife you want, why don't you focus your attentions on the younger Munro girl instead... I seen 'er lookin' at you earlier..."

"You think that is all I care about don't you...havin' a woman to warm my bed. You don't give a damn that I love Anna -"

"I give a whole lot of damn Uncas. The truth of the matter is she don't love you! She's gone!"

* * *

 _Seventy two days, I counted...every night the moon rises and I wonder if you are looking at it too. I feel like I've been running forever...we found a small cabin that from the looks of it hasn't been lived in for years._ _I trek all the way down to the creek alone...it's the only time I'm able to get my thoughts in order, make them stop spinning around in my head, until I can sort them out. But sitting here now, the sunlight reflecting off the water making my eyes hurt, all I can do is think about you, Uncas..._

"Who are you talkin' to?"

Anna jumped and twisted around to look behind her as White Wolf stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, his feet crunching over the rocky gravel of the creek bed as he walked towards her.

"No one" she said, and shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand to look up at him as he stood looking down at her.

"Why do you keep doin' this? You know I don't like it when you go anywhere alone."

"I'm within shouting distance" she said. "It's not that far. Besides, you follow me every time."

White Wolf set the rifle down between his feet and perched on the edge of the boulder next to Anna as she pulled her hair back and twisted it into a messy knot up above her neck. He remembered that she'd complained about having to deal with it not long ago and said something about chopping it all off with his hunting knife. He'd been almost angry at her for even suggesting it. He leant forward abruptly and captured her wrist as she tried to secure the knot in place, then pulled her hand away so her dark hair fell back down. Her eyes met his, and White Wolf tugged at her wrist until she leaned forward and kissed him, using his other hand to push through her thick, tangled hair. He pushed her back slightly once so he could look at her face for a moment and smiled... It wasn't the life Anna would have chosen but she would be lying to herself if she had said she wasn't content. As each passing day had drawn to a close, it became more and more clear to her that Uncas was not coming back. She had cried and prayed to God but it was no use. The night a thunderstorm that threatened to tear the roof of the cabin clean off had been the night that changed things between them. She had dreamt about the Mohawk scout, Magua, that he was stabbing Uncas continuously over and over until his blood stained the dirt. It had been so vivid she had woken in a cold sweat, screaming at the top of lungs. White Wolf had woken from his slumber and grabbed his rifle convinced the cabin was being attacked. After he realized it had been a nightmare, he had held Anna, letting her sob into his shoulder as the storm pounded relentlessly above them. When she finally looked at White Wolf, his eyes were softer than usual, and his thumbs stroked her cheeks. Her fingers found themselves tracing the contours of his face and that's when her lips had found his. All she knew was that it had been fast. It was an overwhelming sense of need, a desperate attempt to feel. She could sense it in him to. The next morning she had been filled with shame when she had woken with White Wolf's naked body next to hers. It had not been easy as she tried to adjust to a life that was so different to the one she had imagined but though she did not love White Wolf, he was in her heart. She had buried Uncas' memory and the unlived life with him within her. The cabin had become her home and White Wolf was now her family but still she ached for Uncas and what might have been.

 _The dogs were barking at a new moon_  
 _And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day 'til the feeling went away_  
 _And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and_  
 _the rain forgot how to bring salvation_

 _Flames to dust_  
 _Why do all good things come to an end_

* * *

 _Authors Note - As you can gather, there has been a slight time lapse in events. This serves as an important development in the story to come and please stick around to find out as this is not the end for Anna and our boys! x_


	16. We All Fall Down

**We All Fall Down**

 _"I touch you knowing we weren't born tomorrow,_  
 _and somehow, each of us will help the other live,_  
 _and somewhere, each of us must help the other die."_  
― Adrienne Rich

"Are you absolutely sure?" Duncan questioned the old man as he pointed for a second time at the sketched portrait. "It was definitely this man you saw with a white woman?"

"For sure. I saw the woman first, she was talkin' to nobody that weren't there, then I saw the injun' and they were carryin' on mighty friendly I tell you."

"Where exactly is this creek?"

"Bout' ten miles east. There's a cabin just yonder. I knew the folks that used to live there...I can take you there if you like."

Duncan nodded, turning his back for a moment as he felt apprehension fill him. He had been stationed in Can-tuck-ee for over two months, a company of twenty men left with him to continue the search for Anna and the Indian. A sketch based on the surviving soldiers accounts had been handed out in the local settlements and villages offering a bountiful reward if the Indian was brought to justice. There had been sightings reported to the militia from all over these parts but this was the first lead they had received that there was a white woman with him. Duncan closed his eyes for moment, knowing in his gut that the woman had to be Anna Wheeler.

* * *

Hawkeye slipped from Cora's room in the early hours of the morning, unseen and unheard. As he returned back to the militia housing at the Fort and settled down on his bunk, listening to other men's snores and occasional grunt, his eyes met with Uncas'.

"I thought the redcoats had caught you for sure this time" Uncas hissed.

"You ever watch a beautiful woman while she's sleeping,." Hawkeye grinned. "Time don't exist for no man then."

Uncas shook his head as he lay back down, his mind elsewhere as he stared at the moonlight that streamed through the small holes in the thatched roof. Their father had returned back to the Delaware village almost two months before to tell Lomasi's mother that her daughter was dead. Hawkeye had gone against his fathers wishes and enlisted in the militia so he could remain at the Fort...because of Miss Cora Munro. The longing looks and the brush of their hands as they walked by developed into stolen kisses and nights they spent together in secret. She had told Hawkeye her father would not approve of the match and so they would continue to keep their relationship hidden; only Uncas and Alice knew of it and both had been sworn not to speak a word. Uncas had chosen to remain with his brother, the memories of Anna and what happened at the Delaware village still too raw for him to go back. General Webb's reinforcements had arrived a month before and the Fort continued to stand tall despite fears amongst some of the men that it would fall to the French. He thought back to the conversation at the Cameron's where Hawkeye had blasted the militia, sworn he was never be fool enough to enlist. He thought if Anna was only here now to see Hawkeye, how she would laugh at him for his words...Uncas felt the corners of his mouth quirk upwards in a smile as he thought of how she was back then, full of spirit and stubbornness. Now she could be anywhere, the militia has been unable to find either her or White Wolf. He still loved her but time served as a healer and his attentions had been drawn to Alice Munro. It struck him how vastly different she was to Anna, like night and day. Alice was sweet and gentle, long blonde hair with streaks of light brown and blue eyes. She continued to look at him a great deal and after much thought to his own happiness, he finally gave in to his desires and started to respond. They hadn't spoken much as he could sense she was very shy of him. He always watched her from a distance, wary that her father or one of the British might notice. But she always cast him a smile that made his heart soar and lately, he had wanted more. Uncas desired what Hawkeye and Cora had, he wanted the closeness, to feel Alice underneath him. But it seemed impossible for him to pursue anything further whilst at the Fort, whilst her father was closeby. Hawkeye took a risk the night's he crept into Cora's room, one that could have him beaten and banished from the Fort and Uncas did not want to take that risk with Alice. He had already lost one woman, he could not lose another.

* * *

"Come out or we will shoot!"

Anna could see the line of figures dressed in red uniforms from the front and back cabin windows. This was it. The moment she had hoped would never come and she was terrified as White Wolf wrapped his hand over hers. He held his rifle in his other hand, his knuckles white to the bone as he gripped it tightly. They had heard the oncoming rush of horses and as they tried to flee, it was too late. The small cabin that had served as their home was now a prison, surrounded at all sides.

"Wait!"

Anna strained to see as a single solder stepped forth.

"Miss Wheeler, it is Major Heyward. I urge you to come out and talk! Please!"

She blinked in stunned shock as Duncan's voice continued to call for her, unable to really believe after everything she had been through, somehow out of everyone, he was here. She nodded once to White Wolf as he let go of her hand and she slowly opened the door, meeting the Major's shocked gaze.

"Anna..." he started as he took in the pale, sickly looking creature dressed in deerskin coverings that were frayed and ripped. "I need you to come with me now or the order has been given by Colonel Munro for the men to open fire. I will ensure that you are escorted safely back to the Fort and we can make a case – "

"Do not lie waschitu! They will hang us" White Wolf called as he appeared next to Anna, his rifle raised at Duncan's head.

"Anna, you remember Private Liam McPherson? He that saved your life back in Albany, he saw what happened at the Delaware village and is prepared to stand as witness on your behalf! There is a chance you will receive a full pardon" Duncan pleaded desperately with her.

"And what about White Wolf?" Anna tried to keep her voice even. "I'm not leavin' without him!"

"The Indian is a murderer. He will be tried and found guilty, justice must be served for the men he killed in cold blood!"

"Then you will have to shoot us both" she said numbly and Duncan exchanged a look with White Wolf then, something passing between them.

"Anna..." White Wolf murmured lowering his rifle as his fingers snaked around her wrist and she turned to face him. "I can't go with you...I'm not going to let them hang me. Indians say if a man dies from strangling, his soul cannot pass onto the spirit land...he has to wander forever...so you have to go on...alone."

"No! No you are not doing this..."

"You have to live for me" he murmured as his thumb wiped away the strays tears that escaped from the corner of her eyes and he looked at Duncan then. "Take her."

"No...White Wolf no!" she cried out as Duncan hauled her around her middle backwards.

"I'll be with you Anna...wherever you are, I'll be with you" White Wolf called, the pain clear in his eyes.

"Do it now!" Duncan ordered as soon as he got Anna safely behind the row of soldiers. She let out a tortured cry as they opened fire and White Wolf's body dropped like a stone. Anna's screams was the only sound that followed as the soldiers stood in silence as the smoke cleared from the barrels of their rifles.


	17. The Hanging Road

**The Hanging Road**

"You should've killed me."

"Anna... it is clear to me you are still traumatized by your ordeal at the hands of that brute. You do not know what you are saying" Duncan commented as he glanced down at Anna as she walked beside his horse, both hands clapped in irons. _It's just a precaution_ he had told her until they reached the safety of the Fort.

"I know exactly what I am saying. You should've killed me when you had the chance.. because I'm going to kill you for what you did to White Wolf" she seethed, her tear stained face filled with fury as she looked at him.

"Don't embarrass yourself further Miss Wheeler, you already look a sight as it is" he said dryly.

"You unimaginable bastard" she hissed as he shook his head and rode on ahead.

Her moccasins were soaked through where they crossed the narrow stream and her hair hung like rat tails down her face. She felt numb as she continued to walk, barely just able to focus on what was ahead of her. She had been living on borrowed time with White Wolf, she just hadn't realized it until it was too late. He was dead. And she couldn't quite grasp it. He had held her hand and moments later, he was sprawled on the ground, a large pool of blood underneath him. As Anna was hauled away, she could see the crows circling overhead ready to peck at White Wolf's dead flesh and vowed in that moment to have revenge for her fallen man.

* * *

Men, women...even children were staring at Anna, contempt and confusion in their eyes as she was led into the Fort. Three days of hard road has taken its toll on her. She was exhausted, cold and every muscle ached as she tried to place one foot in front of the other. Duncan climbed off his horse and exchanged some words with one of the soldiers before turning his attention to Anna. She looked positively wild to him; her eyes set hard, hair unkempt and tangled. He could have sworn if he was not acquainted with her, there was no doubt in his mind he would have mistaken her for a savage then.

"Come with me Miss Wheeler" he said.

"Go to hell!" she shouted and spat on his face as he tried to take hold of her forearm.

Duncan stumbled backwards in momentary shock as he wiped his face with his sleeve, watching as one of the soldiers bayoneted Anna in the back with the butt of his gun. She fell onto the ground, writhing in agony as the other men looked on.

"Bitch" the soldier rasped as he tipped her with his foot, the rifle aimed at her head.

"No! Don't touch her!" Duncan shouted, his eyes wide as the soldier cast him a bewildered look, then moved back.

"You did this" Anna seethed as she raised her head to Duncan and he could see the hatred for him in her eyes.

* * *

Anna lay on the wooden cot in the small cell she had been confined in for the night, deadened inside. She'd drank some water, then saved the rest to wash off the dirt that marked her face. Thoughts of White Wolf continued to plague her as the sound of door creaking loudly further down the corridor filled her ears. A dark shadow moved infront of the bars but Anna continued to look at the stone wall even though she knew there was someone watching her.

"Anna..." Uncas voice trailed off as he closed his hands around the bars.

"You're not really here" she murmured to herself and he frowned in the dark. "Dead and gone that's what you are.."

"Anna, I'm not dead" he said simply and watched as she slowly raised her head to look at him. "I'm not dead..."

"Uncas?" she choked as her eyes settled on the man she convinced herself she would never see again.

He reached out an arm to her as she stumbled towards him and he grabbed hold of her hand, pulling her towards him. Anna felt herself break like a rush of water as he held her as best he could through the bars and she returned his embrace in full, her nails digging into his shirt.

"You came back..you came back..."

"I'm going to get you out of here" he murmured into her hair.

"No Uncas.." she struggled to control her voice as she removed herself from his embrace, her chin trembling. "I can't have you dying for me."

"I'm not going to let them hang you, Anna - "

"If it's Gods will that I die tomorrow, then so be it. I'm done Uncas."

"Anna..what did those bastards do to you? Did they hurt you? Where is White Wolf?"

"He's dead and you need to leave" she said.

Uncas felt his stomach twist as he watched her turn her face from his. Liam had been the one to tell him that Anna had been brought in and had taken her into the cells but he didn't know much else about the particulars. Uncas did not know what she had been through and felt helpless in that moment.

"I should have never left the village that day. I should've stayed and made you my wife."

Anna blinked back the tears as she rested a hand on the slight curve of her belly for a moment and turned to face him. It didn't matter to her anymore where he'd been, why he never came back or how he was here at the Fort. All she wanted was for Uncas to be safe and that meant he had to be gone from her.

"...I..love you" she started as he watched her, his heart breaking as she tried to hold it together for him. "I should've grabbed onto you right at the beginning and never let you go. I wish there was more time but the wheels come full circle..so I need you to leave...forgive me Uncas."

* * *

"Do not speak unless they address you first" Duncan hushed as he led Anna towards the Colonels office. "And please for your own sake act remorseful."

Anna didn't answer him as he entered the room only to find Liam there. Her thoughts were to preoccupied with Uncas. She had told him to leave but he had refused. Instead he had remained outside her cell for the rest of the night until the soldiers came for her in the morning. But he had stood back and let them take her without a fight.

"Where is Colonel Munro? And Captain Murdoch?" he asked Liam.

"Haven't seen them. I've been waitin' in here for over an hour."

"You stay with Miss Wheeler, I will see if I can find out what's going on."

"Everything's goin' to be alright Anna" Liam murmured as Duncan left the room and she looked at him steadily but still did not utter a word.

* * *

Duncan walked swiftly down the narrow corridors, his jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth would break as he continued to search for the Colonel. He hesitated for a moment as his eyes met that of Hawkeye's who was standing at the end of the passageway blocking his path.

"You decided to kill 'er yet, you shit-faced coward!" Hawkeye called out, his tone laced with malice.

"Stand down you barbarian or I will have you beaten from this Fort."

"You can try."

"Major Heyward, sir! Colonel Munro approaches with General Montcalm" a soldier behind Duncan called and he turned, a horrified look on his face.

"What did you say?"

"General Montcalm sir. He's comin' into the Fort."

 _"Some goodness in this world is understood by the presence of the opposite. One will value light in the middle of darkness, and appreciate clemency by encountering savagery. Likewise, a meeting is properly indulged after having known the devastating account of goodbye."_  
― Aishah Madadiy,

* * *

 _Authors Note - thankyou all for your kind words & I am truly sorry about the loss of White Wolf too. I guess my justification in killing him (which wasn't easy) was that he was living on borrowed time. He knew he was a dead man walking and wasn't afraid when the end came. A lot of you picked up that he was a complicated character, and I think very similar to Anna in some ways with her losing her family to the Indians & him losing his family to the Whites. He wasn't a bad man, just misguided and hellbent on revenge, but he did love Anna & he didn't want to see her die so urged for her to carry on. Lacontreras, you do raise a good point about Anna and why did she choose to remain with White Wolf...I suppose the way I see it is she believes at that point in the story that she's killed a man & doesn't even know if there is a village to go back to. The experience with the slave traders made her see how cruel the world can really be & she remained with White Wolf because it was the safest option than to back out there alone. Carol, thank-you for summing up Anna's relationships with Uncas, Jack, Hawkeye & White Wolf perfectly, this is how i meant them to be perceived, not that they were all in love with her! MohawkWoman I'm sorry for White Wolf (really I am) but as you may have caught in this chapter, a part of him still lives on...:) Lavenderlace, arrowsandangels, Aspen14, Lacontreras, Jill, Eriberry2000, Carol, & all my guest reviewers, thankyou all for your reviews & continued support! x_


	18. Time Waits For No Man

**Time Waits For No Man**

 _"There are memories that time does not erase... Forever does not make loss forgettable, only bearable."_

― Cassandra Clare

"This is madness Colonel" Duncan hissed under his breath.

"Montcalm is allowing us to leave the Fort with our arms and without the threat of attack. What sort of fool would I be if I chose honour over British lives?"

"There is no honour in surrender. We ought to continue to fight and dig our very graves behind these ramparts if need be!"

"I am not prepared to risk my girls Major. Make the necessary preparations to vacate the Fort."

"But sir!"

"You will follow my orders Major or I will have you court martialed."

"Yes sir" Duncan nodded, bitterness in his eyes. "And what of Miss Wheeler? Her trial?"

"Anna will be accompanying us back to England where she will be tried for her crimes against British interests" the Colonel said. "And if found guilty, she will be hung from the neck until dead. There is no honour in death Major Heyward but there is justice."

* * *

"There she is" Hawkeye muttered to Uncas as Anna was escorted out the officers quarters, her hands bound in irons. "You wait for my signal Uncas."

His brother nodded as Hawkeyes attention turned to Cora on a horse, Alice clutching her from behind. Their eyes met across the field and she nodded once to him. They had drafted a plan of sorts to free Anna, one that could cost them their lives. Hawkeye had told Cora no matter what happened, she wasn't to follow him;.he would find her...Alice twisted her head around to look at Uncas, scared out her wits for him and what would unfold in the next few minutes.

"Go" Hawkeye muttered and his brother ran on ahead.

* * *

Anna strained her head to see over the vast line of people that moved ahead of her. She had seen Cora and Alice Munro on a horse further down, the Colonel riding infront of them but she could not see Uncas...Unbeknownst to her Hawkeye walked close behind, a British uniform worn over his deerskin coverings, his tricorne hat tilted to hide his face. He could see the keys to the irons hanging from a small piece of cord from the soldier's coat that walked beside her and slowly he retrieved the small knife from his belt. He closed what little distance was between them and raised it to strike when the sound of war cries exploded from the trees around them. Hawkeye dropped the knife as the soldier suddenly came to a stand still and aimed his musket, the other soldiers around him doing the same. Anna felt her breath catch as the war cries increased with more ferocity as the men began to move out in defensive stances leaving her unattended. An Indian rushed from the trees, his tomahawk raised and he was shot down.

"Stay in position!" Duncan ordered from his horse, his sword raised as more Indians burst from the cover of the trees, attacking up and down the line.

Mass panic began to spread like wildfire and some of the men broke rank. Suddenly it became chaos in a matter of seconds. Shots were fired into the crowd and the woman infront of Anna fell to the ground, a gaping wound in her shoulder. A hand locked around her forearm and Anna twisted her head, stunned to see Hawkeye.

"Come with me!" he shouted.

He hauled Anna towards a tree and made her crouch down as he glanced around wildly for Cora and Alice amongst the sea of faces but he couldn't see them.

"You stay here, you understand? I'll come back for you."

Anna watched with wide eyes as he took off, his rifle drawn. She tried to squeeze her hand through the iron loop but it was no use and she let out a frustrated cry. The screams of women and children filled her ears and Anna watched in horror as many were cut down as they tried to flee. Movement to her left caught her eye and she let out a scream as an Indian rushed at her, dagger raised. She rolled to the side but he was too quick. His hand wrapped around her mouth as he hauled her to her knees and she bit down hard. He cried out, letting go of her momentarily and she used those precious few seconds to scramble onto her feet, running blindly back into the chaos.

* * *

Uncas ducked down to avoid the oncoming swing of a tomahawk and tore around, bayoneting the Indian across the back with his rifle. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw Alice rooted to the spot ahead of him. He rushed towards her as she continued to stare at the Indian cutting the throat of a soldier. Uncas cried out her name as another Ottawa grabbed Alice's face turning her to face him. He raised his tomahawk when he heard a ferocious cry behind him and turned just as Uncas smacked him squarely in the face. Alice fell onto the ground as the Indian launched himself at Uncas and a terrible fight ensued for her life. Uncas took a punch to the stomach but it did not deter him as he plunged his knife into the Indian's side and gritted his teeth, brutality taking him over as he repeatedly stabbed him.

"Alice..." he panted and he saw that she was trembling in fear as he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she stood on shaky legs.

"Uncas!" Hawkeyes shouts filled his ears behind him and he tore around, relief flooding him as he briefly embraced his brother for a moment.

"Anna?" Uncas called.

"I got 'er. She's waitin' - " he muttered as his eyes darted from Uncas to Alice realising Cora wasn't with her sister then. "Where's Cora? Where is she?"

"I..." Alice stammered and Hawkeye grabbed her shoulders with force, the veins throbbing in his neck.

"Where is she?" he snarled and Uncas shoved him back, his dark eyes filled with an equal measure of fury as he put himself between his brother and Alice.

"She doesn't know" he warned and Hawkeye met his gaze steadily.

"She told me to run...hide...she took the horse" she managed to say.

"Take 'er and get 'er somewhere safe. I'll find you" Hawkeye called and Uncas nodded as he turned and took Alice's hand in his.


	19. She Was His

**She Was His**

 _"A tormented mind wants to forget, what a broken heart will always remember."_

― Anthony Liccione

Cora cried out in frustration as she tried to maneuver the horse forward but the animal let out a snort and continued to back away in fear. Her hair had come undone from its bun and was loose down her back as she looked around for Hawkeye. Suddenly she felt her breath catch as her eyes settled on her father ahead. He was struggling with an Indian that had climbed onto the back of his horse. Momentarily relief filled her as her father pulled out the pistol in his belt and shot his attacker in the gut. Suddenly his horse buckled and landed on its side, Munro still seated in the saddle. Cora felt as though time had slowed down as recognition flooded her at the sight of the Mohawk scout that had attacked Anna back at the glade. Magua crouched down over her father, a blade in his hand and she cried out.

"Cora!" Hawkeye shouted behind her and she twisted her head around, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks.

"My father..." it was all she could muster before gut-wrenching sobs tore through her chest and convulsed her small frame.

Hawkeye pulled himself on the back of the horse and took control of the reigns. He looked over to see her father lying on the ground dead and his murderer slowly rose onto his feet, Munro's freshly carved out heart in his hand.

"Don't look" Hawkeye murmured in Cora's ear as he turned the horse around and rode off in the other direction.

* * *

Anna felt like an animal caught in a snare as she continued to stumble through the thin woodland. She could see figures ahead of her, no doubt some of those lucky enough to escape the slaughter. It was then she saw a flash of red and her heart almost burst as her eyes settled on Duncan's, his shirt torn and face bloodied. He had not seen her and she realized he must have entered the woods from another part of the field. He trekked forward in the direction the others took, two more men following him, one of them badly injured from the amount of blood on his clothes. She could see light shimmering on water through the trees and she started forward again, all the while still trying to twist her hands free. As she reached the end of the woodland, she could see the survivors climbing into canoes that sat unoccupied on the river bank. Glancing back, she saw see a small band of Indians enter the woods from the field.

"Wait!" she called as the canoes started to leave the bank.

"Anna!" Duncan called as he saw her and gripped onto the sides as she waded into the water towards him. "I've got you..."

She buried the hate for him in that moment as he helped her into the canoe and concentrated on staying alive instead. She glanced back as the Indians emerged on the treeline and terror gripped her soul as Magua, the scout had tried to kill her waded into the water until he was waist deep. He shouted in his own native tongue as Duncan and the other man paddled furiously away from the bank. She felt her blood run cold as he stood there, dark eyes staring into hers and he made a cutting motion along his neck as the canoe moved further and further away. Movement further along the riverbank caught Duncan's attention and he gawped as he saw Alice with Uncas wading along the shallows. It became clear they had emerged from the woods further upstream but were now in a precarious situation as they tried to put as much distance between themselves and the Ottawa.

"Alice! Alice, wait there!" he shouted and Alice's head snapped up at the sound of her name.

"It's Duncan!" she said to Uncas, relief in her voice as she waved both arms towards the Major.

"Uncas" Anna breathed, eyes wide as he stood arms limp by his side, a stunned look on his face as his eyes locked with hers.

"What are you doing? There isn't enough room for both of them!" the man behind hissed.

"Miss Munro is coming with us. The Indian can fend for himself."

"Then you can let me out!" Anna called.

"Don't be a fool, you'll die" the man exclaimed.

"I'll die sooner if I stay!"

"That's not true" Duncan bit as he watched Uncas lead Alice by the arm as they waded further out to meet the canoe.

"Easy" Uncas murmured as Alice took Duncan's hand and climbed into the empty seat behind him.

"Uncas...there is no more room - " Duncan said as Anna climbed onto her feet, rocking the canoe dangerously as she tried to steady herself. "Miss Wheeler! Sit back down!"

"I'm goin' with him!" Anna shouted at Duncan as Uncas waded around to her side and carefully lifted her out.

"Uncas!" Alice exclaimed as he turned to look at her, her face a mask of fear.

"You have to go on without me. I made a promise I would keep you safe ..."

"No, I will not leave you behind" Alice said as Uncas took off the cord around his neck decorated with different colored beads.

"I want you safe..." he murmured as he tied the cord around her neck and brushed her lips lightly with his own. "You will always be my Alice."

Anna turned her face from them, so no one would see the tears that threatened in her eyes. She had not even given it a thought that Uncas had turned his affections elsewhere in the time they had been separated but when she seen him kiss Alice, it felt like someone had shot her in the heart.

"Anna...you leave now and you will be running for the rest of your life" Duncan called.

She did not answer him, just continued to walk towards the riverbank without as much as a look back as Uncas nodded once at Alice, a sad smile on his face as they rowed away. Tears flowed from Alice's eyes as she nodded back to him and Uncas remained watchful until he could no longer see her.

* * *

"It was only natural for you to be drawn to Alice..." Anna said flatly as she continued to walk on ahead of him and he caught her arm, forcing her to face him.

"I still want my life to be with you."

Apprehension filled Anna as Uncas' eyes searched hers. He could have had a life with Alice but instead he had chosen her...She knew it was contradictory for her to feel resentment towards him over Alice while she had lain with White Wolf but but there was a part of her that wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt her...The whole world around them seemed to disappear then as she thought of her unborn child and realized she couldn't go on any further without telling Uncas the absolute truth. She wanted her baby to know who its real father was and if that meant without Uncas by her side, then so be it.

"Uncas..." Anna started. "White Wolf... and I..we..."

She couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence as she watched the colour drain from Uncas' face. Anna realized she didn't have to then as it became clear that he had already worked it out for himself as his eyes became hard and he turned away from her. He walked over to the large birch tree behind them and she flinched as he rammed his fist into the bark, then rested his forehead flat against the trunk for a moment.

"You shared his bed" Uncas said furiously as he turned to face her. "You let him touch you..."

"I thought I would never see you again! Uncas!" Anna shouted as he turned in the other direction and stalked off. "Uncas! Where are you goin'?"

"Leave me be. I need to be alone" he called back and Anna blinked back the tears as he sat down on a fallen tree a short distance from her.


	20. Perhaps, Perhaps Not

**Perhaps, Perhaps Not**

 _"_ _And suddenly, she longed for a thunderstorm."_

― Natalie Babbitt

"You were not White Wolf's to take, you were mine!"

"I'm not a goddamned horse or mule for you to just claim as yours! I never bound myself to you." It was far from the truth, that day she had gone to tell Uncas that she wanted to be his wife but Lomasi had been stolen and she never got the chance. Some nights as she lay with White Wolf beside her, she often wondered if that was Gods intervention..perhaps she was never meant to be with Uncas. Perhaps it was always supposed to be White Wolf...her Aunt often said to her the Lord works in mysterious ways but this was cruel...She saw a flash of hurt in Uncas' eyes but it was quickly replaced by hardness as he stared at her. "I wanted to be with you Uncas...but you never came back ...Chingachgook told me once never to be a martyr so instead of wallowing in self pity.. I chose to live just as you chose to turn your attentions to Alice - "

"I did not lie with her" Uncas said coldly.

"But you felt something for Alice! You wanted her! Do you think that does not hurt me?"

"It is not the same! I should have been the first and only man - "

"I cannot stand here and listen to this. You think I'm less of a woman because you were not the first man to touch me? Is this what this is about? You should have taken your dear sweet Alice as a wife then Uncas because I'm carryin' White Wolf's child and I will not choose you over my baby."

* * *

"It was the same Mohawk scout that attacked Anna on the George Road...it cannot be coincidence!" Cora exclaimed.

"He ain't Mohawk...he's Huron" Hawkeye remarked as he steered the horse left onto another trail. "And it was coincidence Cora, the scout was jus' hellbent on killin' anyone... Let's jus' concentrate on findin' Uncas and your sister...and Anna if she's still alive..."

"...say nothing to Alice.." she murmured, images of her father dead engraved in her mind. "I'm so frightened Hawkeye..."

"I won't let anythin' happen to you..." Hawkeye murmured in her ear and she closed her eyes leaning back into his warmth and reassurance.

* * *

Alice was numb, not from the coldness from the water beneath her but the constant ache in her heart for Uncas. She fiddled with the cord around her neck lost in her own thoughts when Duncan's shouts snapped her back to reality. The roar of a waterfall filled her ears and she realized they were metres from the edge. She didn't know what to do as Duncan and the other man tried to steer them left towards the rocks but the rapids of the water kept pushing them back.

"Faster man! Give it all you've got!" Duncan shouted through gritted teeth and surely enough the canoe started to change course.

Moments later, they all felt the shudder as the canoe bumped against the rocks at the side of the river. Duncan stood first, helping Alice out as the other man slung an arm around the injured soldier, dragging him to land. He was barely conscious and Alice turned her face away at the horrible wound on his torso.

"He's only goin' to slow us down" the man muttered to Duncan who in return cast him a horrified look.

"You are abomination sir!"

"Look around...we're in the middle of nowhere and we're being hunted by redskins! Now do you people want to live or do you want to die!" he shouted.

"Alice..." Duncan called as she crouched down and held the dying man's hand in hers.

"He shouldn't be alone. No one should die alone..." she said in a small voice.

* * *

Uncas sat in silence as he dragged his knife against the smooth stone of a rock formation beside him. He felt lost, his thoughts hadn't stopped dancing and spinning since Anna had told him about White Wolf and that she was with child...there had been a time he had loved her with such fierceness, the overwhelming desire to protect her, feel her, breathe her...His Deer Woman...the native legend of the Deer Woman told that men were lured in by her presence and then she killed them...it was almost a fitting analogy to Uncas in a sense, he had been attracted by Anna's beauty and now she was tearing his guts apart...Perhaps he had made the wrong choice, perhaps he should have followed Alice but the more he looked over at Anna's sleeping form, he still could not sever his bond with her. She was alone in the world now, no family, no husband and in a few months she would be a mother. He could not hate the child for it was an innocent. He wondered for a fleeting moment if he would be able raise this child as his own...his father had done so with Hawkeye, with time maybe he would be able to do the same...The sudden noise of Anna's voice mumbling to herself while she dreamt caught his attention and he watched as she turned over, the sound of the loud chink of the chains of the irons around her wrists startling a bird that had perched on a low branch above them. He hadn't even given a thought of how she was going to be free of them without the keys...he heard her scream then and dropped his knife as he rushed over to wake her.

"Anna!" Uncas voice hissed and she felt hands gripping her upper arms, and they gave her a quick hard shake.

"..what? what is it? what's wrong?..." she garbled as other voices from behind them filled Uncas ears and he tore around.

"Move" he hissed hauling her to her feet and they ran into the thick brush.

He pushed Anna onto the ground, his hand clasped over her mouth as they watched several dark shapes emerge from the trees carrying flaming torches. Uncas held his breath as the man infront stopped and sniffed the air, then looked around. Anna squeezed his arm and the hand around her mouth pressed harder as fear entered her soul for it was Magua she had just seen. Several tense moments passed before the band of Indians passed them by and Uncas slowly released his hold of her.

"He won't stop until I'm dead..."

"What are you talkin' about?" Uncas asked, his eyes still watching the orange glow in the distance as the Indians moved further away.

"Magua, that was him, the scout that tried to kill me when you found us on the road. He said something that day to me, about killing my father, but that's impossible, somethin' about a seed...I cannot remember properly, it all happened too fast but it was him again that chased after us on the canoe today, we barely got away but he saw me, he saw me Uncas and did this" Anna spoke so fast Uncas could barely understand her as she imitated the same cutting motion along her neck.

"Slow down. what are you saying? You think he's after you?"

"I don't know..I don't know. But it's like he knows me Uncas. It's like he wants me dead for a reason."


	21. Lovers To Friends

**Lovers To Friends**

"We need to find a settlement..find someone that will be able to remove those irons" Uncas remarked as he walked ahead on the narrow trail.

"We can't! They'll want to know why I've got these goddamned things on."

"Then what else do you suggest? Cut off your hands?" Uncas said and Anna saw the hint of a smile as he glanced back at her.

"Would you like a woman with no hands?" Anna laughed lightly, and he closed his eyes for a moment realising what they were doing. They were acting like nothing had happened and he couldn't do it. He had to tell her what he had been wrestling with all night in his mind and it was tearing him up inside to say it.

"Anna" he started as he turned to face her. "I cannot take you as a wife."

It was blunt and brutal. Anna felt as though all the air had been sucked from her lungs and she looked into the woods so he couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. She believed after the truth had been laid out, after all the fights and tears the night before, they might have had a chance...

"So that's it, after everythin' we've been through..."

"Anna..." he started and tried to take her arm but she shoved him away.

"As soon as we reach the next settlement, I'll leave..."

"I don't want you gone. I want you to come back with me to the Delaware village. Your child should grow up amongst its own people."

* * *

"How much longer do we have to stay here for?" Alice asked as she braided a section of hair.

"Until we are clear of them redskins dearie" the man whose name she had learnt as Hugh Dunbar called over the rush of the waterfall.

The body of the unfortunate soul who had died the day before from his extensive wounds had been dumped into the water by Hugh who had fought with Duncan over it as he was convinced the Indians would track them if they found the man's remains. But it seemed he had spoken to soon as they were spotted by some young Indian boys who started to throw rocks and sticks at them. They had been forced to retreat further down the steep rocky terrain where they had found a small entrance that led to a sheltered cavelike area than ran behind the waterfall and had spent the night without disturbance.

"This will all be over soon Alice" Duncan said as Hugh cast him an irritated look. "We will find Cora and return back to England as soon as we can."

* * *

"We need to lose the horse" Hawkeye hissed as he saw movement on the canyons above them.

"What is it?" Cora asked alarm in her voice as he climbed down first and lifted her down.

"Tokal eyaya hwo" he shouted and rushed at the horse.

"What are you doing?" she exclaimed as the animal took off into the woods and he hauled her back by the arm.

"There's someone up there...could be friend or foe. I ain't takin' the chance to find out though. The horse is to easy to track. We walk from here."

Cora suddenly let out a scream as a flaming arrow whizzed past her head and hit the tree behind them. Hawkeye pushed her to the ground covering his body with hers as he risked a look upwards but could not see anyone. But the arrow belonged to an Indian, a hostile one at that and Hawkeye realized they were an easy target on the ground, they had to get to higher ground and fast. He took a deep breath and hauled Cora to her feet as he ran through the cluster of trees that provided them with some cover. He could hear the sound of water nearby and his gaze settled on a rushing waterfall about two hundred yards ahead of them. Cora gripped onto his hand as they crashed through the clearing until they reached the edge of a rocky slope.

"What now?" she called, both hands clasped over her ears as the sound of the water crashing down bore through her head.

"Cora! Cora!"

Hawkeye heard the voice and his head snapped upwards at the sight of Major Heyward, a man he did not recognize and Alice looking down at them. Duncan stared in disbelief at both of them and Cora cried out at the sight of her sister alive. After another long drawn out debate, they had left the cave and it was just as they stepped out into the warm air, he had seen the flash of a striped skirt and thought he had finally succumbed to madness.

"Go! Up!" Hawkeye shouted and Duncan shook his head as Cora gripped onto the first rock, pulling herself onto the small ledge.

"Down! We go down!" he shouted back but his pleas were ignored until he was forced to extend his hand to both of them.

"Alice! Thank goodness!" Cora broke as she embraced her little sister tightly, tears of relief running down her cheeks as the other three men stood awkwardly looking at one another.

"Where's Uncas?" Hawkeye asked as he tried to gain control of his breathing after the hard climb.

"He left with Miss Wheeler.." Duncan said.

"Uncas saved me" Alice murmured as Cora tucked a blonde strand behind her ear.

"You saw Anna? When?"

"Yesterday...a band of savages chased us down... we barely got away with our lives."

"I think you are bein' hunted Major. We were jus' attacked half a mile back, shot at with a flamin' arrow. Sound like your boys?" Hawkeye asked.

Hawkeye watched as Duncan's face drained with colour and he looked over at the two Munro sisters. Hugh didn't say a word as he ran a hand through his hair, his face a picture of apprehension and fear as Hawkeye pulled out his dagger.

"We can go back into the cave behind the waterfall and hide..maybe they will pass us by?" Alice suggested with wide eyes and Hawkeye blinked at her.

"That might jus' work" he said in a low voice and Cora nodded to him once in reassurance as they turned back towards the cave.

* * *

Uncas watched from the stream as Anna crouched on the ground and sank the irons under the water, then tried to squeeze her hands through for the umpteenth time. He shook his head as she let out a frustrated cry and stood up, her face and wrists bright red from her efforts.

"I told you that wouldn't work" he said dryly as he came forward. "We need a blacksmith."

"And where are we goin' to find a blacksmith Uncas? Preferably one that won't report me to the militia after he sees these around my wrists" she snapped.

"I'm only tryin' to help you" he said and she sighed, then shook her head.

"I know..I'm sorry Uncas. I'm jus' so exhausted..tryin' to make sense of my life now..."

"I know the feeling."

"Uncas...what will you do once we return back to village?" Anna asked, her tone hesitant as she looked at the ground.

"Find my brother if he didn't make it back."

"And.. what about..Alice?"

"She will return to England..." Uncas' voice trailed off. "I have decided I will settle with a Delaware speaking woman just as my father intended."

"I could always learn how to speak Delaware..." Anna cracked nervously with a small laugh but there was also a hint of desperation in her voice and he looked at her with a sad smile.

"Come..." he said simply and she bit the inside of her cheek as she followed him back on the trail.


	22. Second Chances

**Second Chances**

 _"Time it to swift for those who fear,_  
 _Too long for those who grieve,_  
 _Too short for those who rejoice,_  
 _But for those who love, time is_  
 _Eternity."_

 _Henry Van Dyke_

"I urge you all to enlist, for King, for Country!" the British soldier called.

"Get out of it, you sassenach devil! England is no friend of ours. Off with ye!" an older Scottish man shouted, his face covered in dirt and Uncas watched from afar with Anna as the man stalked off towards what looked to by a smithy next to the stables.

"Looks like that's our man" Uncas murmured.

"He certainly doesn't have any love for the English" Anna remarked as she followed Uncas.

"And what can I dae for you young folks?" the blacksmith asked as they stopped at the entrance. "Yer horse thrown a shoe?"

"No sir" Uncas answered as Anna walked around him and the man frowned at the sight of the irons. "We need a favour."

"You want me to take off those, right? Nae chance..what did you dae lassie anyways...rob a bank?"

"I assaulted a British soldier" Anna said bluntly and she blinked, taken aback as he suddenly let out a hearty laugh.

"You? You assaulted a British soldier? What did you do lass...sneeze on him?"

"Yes..thats exactly what I did " she snapped as his face darkened and Uncas wrapped a hand around her arm gently pulling her back.

"I can pay you" Uncas tried to reason and took out the few coins he had from the pack slung around his middle.

"Alright..but if either one of ye breathes a word that I did this, I'll hunt ye down and have yer guts for garters."

"We were never here" Uncas nodded once and the blacksmith took the coins.

"Aye...I'm only doin' this cause I've got four bairns at home that need feedin'... I don't want nae part in what you did."

* * *

"Uncas gave this to you?" Cora murmured as Alice continued to run her fingers over the cord around her neck. "I recognize it from the night I bandaged him up..remember when he first arrived at the Fort with Hawkeye?"

"What is it?" Duncan called as Hawkeye scrambled towards the entrance, his rifle raised.

"Sshh" he hissed hoping he had imagined the flash of orange he had seen against the backdrop of water.

Cora stood with Alice, eyes wide as they waited in silence, the roar of the waterfall baring through her head again. Hawkeye froze at he saw an orange glow again move towards them and he ran back. Duncan and Hugh exchanged a look as he grabbed Cora by the arm and hauled her from Alice.

"They're here..."

"What do we do?" Cora asked as she cast a fearful look towards Alice.

"I have to jump...In this there is a chance. If I live, I can try to free you. If I don't go, there is no chance, there's too many of them -"

"Coward!" Duncan shouted.

"If they don't kill you, they may take you north up into Canada. A warrior may take you for a wife. Listen. Submit. You hear me? You're strong. You stay alive. I will find you ..." Hawkeye continued ignoring Duncan entirely as Cora looked at him in stunned shock.

"No! We're comin' with you!" Cora shouted.

"No..you'll sink like a stone!" Hawkeye called back knowing that her heavy skirts would drag her under aswell as Alice.

"And who's to say they will take us as captives? They might just kill us!"

"I'm not stayin' here without a weapon waitin' to be slaughtered" Hugh shouted. "I'm takin' the leap of faith...jus' hope God doesn't kill me on the way down."

* * *

"I think it's a boy" Anna murmured as Uncas cooked the salmon over the fire he had fished from the river.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I feel it..."

"What will he be called?" Uncas asked and she shrugged as she traced a finger across the dirt. It felt good to have the use of her hands again after the blacksmith at the settlement freed her. Her wrists still felt stiff and the skin was rubbed raw but she didn't care. she was free. Uncas watched her closely, a longing to touch her stirring in his blood...he had woken that morning with a feeling of calm within him. He felt different..it was often human nature to change ones mind...

"My father longs for grandchildren of his own..."

"Hmmm" Anna continued to look at the ground, her hair still wet from washing it in the river.

"Anna...hear me" Uncas murmured and she raised her head to look at him. "...I will be father to your son...he will be wičháša..warrior...mičhíŋkši..my son."

"Uncas.." Anna stood as she stared at him in aghast. "You do not know what you ask...after all that was said...just yesterday..you wouldn't have me -"

"I was full of anger...about you..all I could see was White Wolf..but my mind is clear now.. I realized he saved you..he kept you alive so you could come back..to me. You were right...after everything we have been through together..to find one another again...I have to believe it's the will of the Great Spirit."

"Uncas...my baby needs to know who his father was. I cannot deny him that."

"I will not hide who his blood father was. But he will have a father..as you will have a husband."

"Why are you doin' this Uncas? Why...I thought I was unforgiven..."

"I could not let you go..not even after Alice, even when I told myself to walk away...my heart is bound to you.."

* * *

Hawkeye rolled and tumbled through the fast-moving white water. He submerged, then surfaced again as he took another deep breath trying find his bearings. He tried to focus as he slammed into the rocks and fought against the current as his hand gripped onto a thick branch overhanging from a low tree. Hauling himself onto land with every bit of strength he had left, he lay there on the cold rock staring at the birds circling overhead. It was then he heard a woman's tortured howl and he scrambled onto his feet to see Alice drop to her knees at the crumpled form further down. Duncan stood behind her, his sleeve over his mouth as he stared at the mop of dark hair that obscured Cora's bloodied features. As Hawkeye stumbled forward, he could see the pool of blood underneath her.

"No..." the strangled cry left his lips as he wrapped his arms around her middle and he held her against him, her arms limp at her side.

"Christ almighty..." Hugh muttered as he stood from afar. "..she must have hit the rocks...may the Lord have mercy on her soul.."

"Cora! Cora!" Hawkeye wailed as he tried to rouse her but her brown eyes remained lifeless.


	23. Home

**Home**

 _Oh lord in the_ _darkness, lead me on my way_

 _Lead me home_  
 _Lead me home_

Silence.

Alice watched as Hawkeye stalked on ahead. She didn't know where he was taking them or if they were infact just following him. Duncan had called to him once to slow down but Hawkeye hadn't even acknowledged his presence. She feared that Cora's death had pushed him over the edge. Duncan had been forced to drag her from her sisters body with the threat of their assailants ever looming. Cora had been left on the rocks with only Hawkeyes words to haunt Alice.

 _"She stays as she lay."_

"He's like a man possessed...he'd be daft if he thinks revenge is goin' to solve anythin'" Hugh remarked and Duncan looked at him.

"He's headed in the wrong direction if revenge was his forte -" Duncan remarked dryly.

"Or he's leadin us' like bait.. redskins pick up our trail and when they catch up.. He can't take them all on..You'll wish you died on the rocks like that girl.."

"That girl..is my sister you son of a bitch!" Alice snapped, her choice of language and the ferocity in her tone making both men hesitate in their tracks.

* * *

Anna felt a bile at at the back of her throat, it wasn't morning sickness, it was the sight of the Delaware village across the water. She remembered the first time she had stood there, how she had been filled with so much hate and fear towards the Indians. This place had been the mark of a beginning to an end where she had planned to map out a life with Uncas...where it had all been blown into oblivion with the arrival of the British..She felt Uncas rest his hand on the small of her back as he urged her to come with him and she nodded once with uncertainty. She still wanted to be with Uncas but not like this. She didn't want to play second fiddle to Alice, she didn't want to be his because it was _convenient..._ Anna had stayed alive this long because she was a survivor, she knew she would be alright on her own.

* * *

Alice sat with her knees drawn to her chest as they stopped for a rest break. Duncan watched from afar as she continued to cry bitterly and turned his face away, the loss of Cora weighing heavily on his heart. He had loved her but it was unrequited, having proposed marriage to her and then to be refused. He still carried the small locket with a etching of her likeness but as he glanced at Hawkeye crouched by the stream, he decided it was time to let her go...

"I think Cora would want you to have this" he said in a low tone as he held out the closed locket to Hawkeye.

"What is it?" Hawkeye muttered.

"Just a trinket...something I acquired in London..."

He watched as Hawkeye's rough fingers prised the locket open and he stared hard at it for a moment. Duncan could see the tears in his eyes as Hawkeye stood and walked over to Alice who froze, watching with red rimmed eyes as he loomed over her, then crouched down.

"Take it" he said and she sniffed as she traced a finger over the silver case.

"This is Duncan's. He carries it everywhere" she said quietly.

"He gave it to me and now I'm givin' it to you. Cora was your sister. It's only right you have it."

* * *

"You have lost your way" Chingachgook murmured as Anna wiped the tears from her eyes with the heel of her hands.

"I feel so detached...I'm not sure of anything anymore..except this baby."

"And what of my son? Are you sure of him?"

"Uncas wants to do right by you Chingachgook...so he's sacrificin' his own happiness by tellin' himself that he must settle with me -"

"My son is happy with you."

"No...his heart was once mine but it is not anymore. When he touches me, it is Alice he sees...that is why you must talk with him. He is to noble in his ways..much like you when you took me in. I was filled with so much ignorance and hate...Chingachgook you showed me a better way to live my life. And now you must do the same for him" Anna said.

As hard as it was to let Uncas go, it was the right thing to do. She knew what sort of life awaited them both if he went through with marrying her. He would kiss her and smile, act as a husband should but underneath he would be miserable, still yearning for his Alice. Anna would always feel inadequate next to her. Her son did not need a father, he would have a mother who would be willing to lay down her life for him if need be.

* * *

"Where will you go?" Alice asked as she walked alongside Hawkeye.

"Can-tuck-ee...the Delaware village where my Pa is..."

"Do you think Uncas will be there?"

"I hope so...he would have made sure Anna was safe so I'm thinkin' he would have headed west."

"I hope Uncas is there..." Alice murmured, her fingers reaching for the cord around her neck again. "...Hawkeye.. my sister didn't believe in true love..she always scolded me for still believing in childish.." Alice's voice cracked and she blinked back the tears as Hawkeye placed an arm around her shoulder in comfort. "But she loved you..and I think..I think she was always meant to find you. And I know she's gone.. but she's not really gone is she? Not when she lives in our hearts..."

"Come back with me to the Delaware village Alice...if Uncas is there.. you both ought to be happy..it's what Cora would have wanted."

"But Duncan...he wants me to return to England..I am to be his ward..."

"If Uncas didn't make it back...then return home...but if there's a chance, don't waste it Alice..." Hawkeye said looking off into the horizons beyond them. "You always think there will be more time...then that person you love is snuffed out like a candle."


	24. Justice

**Justice**

"Why did you go to my father? Why did you not come to me?" Uncas asked.

"Because you would not listen to me! What exactly did Chingachgook say to you?"

"That you are unsure of me..."

"And what about Alice? Did he say anything about what I said on that subject?" Anna watched as Uncas shook his head.

"I knew it..he still thinks I'm the one for you...goddamn.." she muttered as Uncas moved closer to her.

"I want you" he murmured, tucking a stand of dark hair behind her ear and she felt his breath hot against her skin.

He reached his right arm up and ran his fingers up the back of her neck, turning her head so her lips met his. The kiss was slow and soft at first, but she felt his hands pressing harder and suddenly they were pulling at her clothes and sliding up underneath.

"No.." she batted him away and he stared at her, hurt and confusion in his eyes.

"Once we lie together..you will feel differently Anna - "

"It won't change anything..Uncas real love comes from here" she said resting a hand flat on her chest.

"My father said once a man and woman give themselves to one another...the love comes to them easier."

"And you think that once I lie with you...you will know for sure who it you want? Uncas...I can't do this. I can't be with you like this."

"And this is what you want?" Uncas said after a long moment.

"Yes it is..." Anna managed to say and she bit back the tears as she kissed him once on the lips, a final farewell on her part as she left the wigwam.

* * *

Anna walked along the riverbank watching as some of the village children laughed and swam in the water. Two days had passed since she had told Uncas that she didn't want to be with him and apart of seeing him return from a hunting party the night before, they had not spoken. Suddenly she came to a stop, the same feeling creeping on her that she was being watched just like that day White Wolf stumbled from the trees shot. It was then she saw movement of a man dressed in deerskin coverings and shoulder length black hair...

"White Wolf?" Anna breathed, her heart stopping for a moment as the man emerged from the trees.

"Anna!" Hawkeye shouted and she dropped the bucket she had been carrying as he rushed towards her. As he held Anna fiercely around her shoulders, he placed one hand on the back of her neck and she stiffened. After a moment, Anna returned the embrace in full, as Hawkeye inhaled the scent of her hair and sweat-covered skin.

"You're alive" he breathed as he moved his hands to her shoulders, gently pushing her back so he could look at her face closely.

"Very much so" she said still in stunned shock and she saw him crack a pain-staked smile, his eyes laced with tears.

"Uncas?"

"He is here..." Anna's voice trailed off when she saw Alice standing at the base of the treeline... _and Duncan_.

"Anna! Anna! Thank goodness you are safe!" Alice called as she gathered her torn skirts and ran towards them. Hawkeye frowned as Anna backed away, looking between him and Duncan. Something dark stirred in her eyes as she stalked back to the village.

"What is wrong?" Alice asked.

"Nothin'. Uncas is here..." Hawkeye said to Alice, his eyes still fixed on Anna. "Come. Let's find my brother."

* * *

"You took long enough!" Uncas called as Hawkeye walked towards him, a grin on his face as they embraced.

"It is good to see you Uncas!" Hawkeye smiled as he fixed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Where is your woman?" The grin on Uncas' face faded as Hawkeye looked at him, then shook his head once, tears threatening in his eyes. No words needed to be said as Uncas knew then that she hadn't made it and he lowered his head in sorrow for Cora.

"Uncas?" Alice's voice called from afar and he slowly raised his head. It was her. His Alice. She looked at him, her eyes unsure as he felt his breath catch.

"She came back for you" Hawkeye smiled sadly and Uncas made his decision then.

Alice watched as Uncas strode towards her and she suddenly relaxed as a smile broke on his face. She grinned back, tears in her eyes as he embraced her in full.

"I found you" she said in a small voice and he pushed her back, his hands on either side of her face.

"My Alice" he murmured before pressing his lips against hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Anna watched from a distance and despite all she had said, her heart still broke to see him with another woman. Her eyes settled on Duncan's retreating back then as he walked off towards the woods and she knew what must be done. The pistol in her hand she had taken from what was left of White's Wolf personal effects in his wigwam that she had now claimed as her own. She felt empty inside as she followed after Duncan and she knew there was no going back.

* * *

"Duncan.." Anna called and he turned around to look at her.

"Miss Wheeler..."

"You shouldn't have come back here" she said, her tone even and cold.

"I was accompanying Miss Munro but I can see that she will most likely settle with your Indian friend."

"I told you I would kill you for what you did to White Wolf" she said and in one swift motion drew the pistol from behind her back. Duncan didn't even have time to react as she fired a shot and he looked at her in shock as he stumbled forward, a small red blot appearing on his shirt. The blot started to spread as the blood flowed and he collapsed onto his knees.

"Anna!" Hawkeye shouted and she tore around, his face paling as Duncan crumpled onto the ground. "What have you done? What the hell have you done?"

"He shouldn't have come back" she muttered as Hawkeye crouched down beside Duncan.

"He's dead" he stammered as he raised his head to look at her.

"And in death, there is justice" she said simply, White Wolf's pistol hanging limply by her side.


	25. Forgiven

**Forgiven**

It had all happened so fast...she felt herself become numb as she watched Hawkeye drag Duncan's body behind the thick brush. He checked the immediate area for anyone else who might have heard the shot, then once satisfied they were alone, he had proceeded to claw out a shallow grave in the dirt with his bare hands. After dumping the body and burying it the best he could, he dragged a fallen log nearby over the spot to stop animals from dragging out the corpse to eat.

""Duncan left...He wanted to slip away quietly, that's what I tell Alice. That's what happened. You hear?" Hawkeye hissed but Anna remained unresponsive. "You never speak of this, you understand? You can't...not now that you are with child...my Pa told me..it's White Wolf's ain't it?"

"Duncan was the one that gave the order ..he's the one that murdered White Wolf...he's the reason my son will not know his father."

"And you thought killin' Duncan would solve it? Have you lost your goddamned mind Anna?" Hawkeye exclaimed, fury in his eyes as she stared at him.

"I had to Hawkeye! I had to avenge White Wolf..it's jus' me an' this baby...I don't have no one..Uncas has his woman now...Alice gets to have the husband, the children..the life I should have had with him! All I have known is suffering while everything just falls into place for her..."

"She's jus' lost her whole family Anna! Jus' like you did... Cora..Cora didn't make it..."

"...people die all the time..." Anna said, a coldness to her tone and he suddenly grabbed her by both arms, his face mapped with anger and grief.

"It weren't jus' anyone! It was Cora...my Cora.." his voice broke with emotion.

"And White Wolf wasn't jus' anyone...he was mine!" she screamed shoving him back.

They both stood in silence staring at one another for a long moment, tempers flaring and tears threatening. Anna turned her back looking out at the woods beyond damning the whole world. She wasn't sorry that she had killed Duncan in cold blood. She was more sorry for letting Uncas go.

"Promise me you won't say a word about what happened here" Hawkeye said eventually and she looked at him.

"Why? Why do you even care about what happens to me?"

"Because I bloody do!" he snarled. "Promise me."

* * *

The night was bitter and Anna lay under the bearskin rug trying to stay warm. She had seen Uncas disappear with Alice into his wigwam earlier. She had cried for a while, then just stared into nothingness. There was a distance now between her and Chingachgook ever since she had refused his son which she could not blame him for. She couldn't blame anyone, this was her own doing. She was surprised at Hawkeyes sudden selflessness to help her when all they had done was bicker save for those few moments he had shown kindness to her. He had just helped her bury a man and was willing to take the secret to his grave... Alice had barely even blinked at Duncan's sudden departure when Hawkeye had spoken to her and Anna got the sense she didn't care as she was now settled with Uncas. But watching them so happy together was like twisting a knife into her gut. Suddenly she heard a rustle and snapped up only to see Hawkeye crawl into the wigwam dressed only in his deerskin breechclothes.

"What are you doin' here?" she asked, bitterness in her tone as he sat opposite her.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright" he said simply and she frowned.

"I'm fine" she lied and he shook his head, seeing her red rimmed eyes.

"You've been crying...is it about what you did?"

"No..I just want to be alone..."

"I don't believe that. No one should be alone" he said.

"You shouldn't be here. Someone might have seen you..they'll think somethin' goin' on -"

"And so what if it is? Ain't none of their concern" he said and an awkward silence fell between them for a long moment.

"I was crying because...because of Uncas. I still love him..and it's jus' so hard to be the one left behind..."

"We both lost someone Anna...but it don't mean we're alone..."

* * *

 _ **Fiv** **e** **Months On**_

Anna sat with Fala by the fire, her hand resting on her baby bump. She had another month to go before she was due to give birth but she felt as though she was about to burst. Alice was also with child, two months gone. It had been hard at first to accept but as time passed, she found herself more accepting of the situation. Uncas was married now and though they did speak, it was seldom and forced. She did not think things would ever be the same for them again, there were still feelings there and a lot of pain involved.

"Lykopi ya unpi hektika!" Doli, Fala's oldest daughter called and Anna looked around to see Hawkeye with some of the other Delaware men.

"They have come back from Cisboko town. And I see they have brought many gifts" Fala said gleefully as she scrambled onto her feet.

Anna watched as Fala joined some of the others to greet them. The small band of men had been gone for almost a month, trading and selling furs. Hawkeye had become a friend of sorts to her but when he had decided to leave for Cisboko town, it made her feel more alone than ever. He said he needed the time away to think but Anna feared he would come back with a wife and then his woman wouldn't allow him to talk with her anymore. But there was no woman with him and she nodded as he approached.

"That baby sure don't want to come out" he commented as she climbed onto her feet.

"I would hug you but I can't.." Anna said, looking down at her stomach and he laughed.

"It's good to see you.." he said softly as his eyes searched her face. Her hair was longer than he remembered; it tumbled now just below her waist. Her skin was darker now due to being out in the sun but there was life in her eyes again. Unknown to her, the reason he had left was because he had started to feel something towards her, something he didn't think he was capable of after Cora had died. He had felt he was betraying her memory by allowing himself to think of Anna. And then there was Uncas. His own brother. He had left because it was too much temptation and he thought time away would help but seeing her standing infront of him, it all came rushing back. Never did he believe he would feel this way about her. Yes, he had been guilty of looking at her in the past but this was different.

"I'm glad you came back" she smiled and he reached around his neck, untying a turquoise stone necklace.

"I brought this for you" he said and rested it in the palm of her hand.

"Hawkeye..it's..beautiful" she said as her fingers traced over the smooth stone.

"The woman that sold me it told me to make sure I gave it to a pretty girl.." he murmured and she met his gaze, something passing between them.


	26. Lionheart

**Lionheart**

 _We wake and the dream is forgotten, and we can only strive to remember what we saw, what we heard, and what was remembered while dreaming. If I could sleep forever, I would._ _Living has reduced itself to just a means to move me from one place to the next, when I'd should have just stayed where I was. Life took me far from home and left me stranded, dependent upon these weary limbs to propel me all the way back again._ _Uncas.. w_ _e could waste hours debating what we could've been. But the fact is, we were never anything but ourselves. If I had to change myself to suit anyone, I wouldn't change at all. I'd rather remain the one you almost loved..._

"You're talkin' crazy again" Hawkeye's voice broke through the blurred haze and deafening roar in her ears. Her throat felt like liquid fire had been poured in, and the brightness that shone from the door of the wigwam made her head pound instantly when she opened her eyes.

"Dreamin" she mumbled thickly, and closed her eyes to block out the light. She head him talking to someone else and heard the sound of the flap of the door being shut. She opened her eyes again and tried to focus, but could only make out the vague blurry outlines. Someone pressed something against her lips and she drank the cold water gratefully. Fala. It was Fala's voice she heard as she talked quietly with Hawkeye, then footsteps walking away.

"Don't" she whispered. "Don't go."

"Not goin' anywhere" Hawkeye said.

He pulled her up so she was leaning against him as he sat with his back against the wall. She let herself drift back towards sleep, comforted by his arms around her and the sound of his heart beating in her ear. Hawkeye brushed his fingers through her hair knowing the worst of the fever was over. He suspected the illness had been brought back from Cisboko town. Chango's youngest girl had succumbed to the fever and had sadly passed away in the night. Anna had started to show the symptoms two days prior and with her almost due to give birth any day, Hawkeye feared for her life, not leaving her side for a moment. But it seemed God was on their side as Fala was adamant the fever would break soon.

 _"She's strong" Fala murmured as she dabbed water against Anna's feverish head._

 _"You have no idea" Hawkeye answered._

"How is she?" Uncas asked quietly as he crawled in and Hawkeye signalled for him to shut over the flap.

"Still fightin'...Pa left with Alice yet?" Hawkeye muttered.

"Yes.. she didn't want to leave but she must. It's not safe for her..not safe for our baby."

"Anna called for you a few times..it's the fever...makes her delirious.."

"I couldn't leave with Alice...I couldn't...if Anna died and I wasn't here..." Uncas voice trailed off.

"She ain't goin' to die, you hear?" Hawkeye stated.

* * *

 ** _Nine Days Later_**

Anna walked towards the direction of the woods, her hands laden with a basket as she went to pick wild berries. She hesitated as her eyes fell on Hawkeye as he played a game of stickball with some of the other Delaware men. He did not see her but she felt a smile playing on her lips as she watched him. Though time seemed to bleed together whilst she was ill , she was always aware of Hawkeyes presence nearby. She was sure he was the reason she had recovered..

.As she entered the woods, she felt a sharp twinge and stopped for a moment. But the pain wasn't repeated so she continued to move further into the thick brush. As she rested the basket onto the ground and broke off a branch of berries, another twinge tore through her and she gasped as she felt something wet between her legs. She tried to move forward but the third twinge made her cry out in agony and she gripped onto the tree trying to stay calm. Anna could see the smoke from the village rise above the trees and she knew was too far away for anyone to hear her shouts but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

"Help! Please!" she shouted just as another pain ripped through her small frame and she collapsed on the ground in agony.

She heard the breaking of twigs then and strained her head to see a flash a movement. Her eyes widened as a female doe emerged from the cover of the trees and looked at her. An eerie feeling of peace fell over Anna as the doe continued to watch her for a long moment until she cried out in agony again and it bolted. She could hear the sound of more branches breaking and fear filled her until her eyes settled on Uncas who had been tracking the deer.

"Anna!" he shouted at the sight of her lying on her back, her deerskin leggings soaked.

"Thank God" she breathed, her face and hair matted with sweat. "Uncas..the baby's comin' now.."

"I'll get some help" he exclaimed as Anna wailed through gritted teeth.

"There's no time...Uncas..." she struggled to say as he dropped his rifle and crouched down beside her.

"You can do this..." he urged as he slid off her leggings.

"I can't.." she cried out, tears escaping the corners of her eyes.

"Anna! Look at me! Focus on me!" The rest of his words were drowned out by her agonizing cries and he felt helpless as she crushed his hand.

 _I'll be there with a love that's strong_  
 _I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on_


	27. Child Do Not Worry

**Child. Do Not Worry**

"Anna..don't push, somethings wrong!" Uncas called as he saw a small pool of blood beneath her.

"I'm not goin' to make it" she murmured, her face an ashen white.

Uncas squeezed her hand, his heart drumming in his ears as he looked her over once. She had been suffering from severe contractions over the last half hour but it was in the past five minutes she said she had the overwhelming need to push. Her screams tore through him and he hated that he could do nothing except hold her hand and offer her words of encouragement...and there was still no sign of the baby. She looked so small and frail, every last bit of strength she had gone. Uncas did not know if her body could cope much more with the trauma. Thoughts of his own Alice flooded his mind and if the same would happen to her when the time came...

"Uncas...my baby has to survive..for all of us. You take care of him..I'm givin' him to you and Alice -" her words were stolen as she cried out in agony again and suddenly Uncas saw it..the top of a head covered in wispy black hair.

"Anna! I can see it...I can the head!" he exclaimed as she let out another agonizing scream and he managed to grab hold of the baby as it slithered out. Tearing off his shirt, he wrapped the child in the material and Anna strained her head, hot tears rolling down her cheeks when she heard her baby cry.

 _I did it. My baby is alive...I did it White Wolf._

"It's a girl" Uncas smiled in awe of such a miracle that was new life.

"Look after her...for me.." Anna murmured and the smile on Uncas' face faded as he looked at her.

She was lying still on the ground, brown eyes wide and staring but there was no life behind them. He suddenly couldn't think as he continued to stare at her, then his eyes drifted to the mass of blood beneath her. Softly laying the baby onto the ground, he lifted Anna up so her body leant against his. Tears ran down his cheeks as his fingers traced the contours of her face, then gently he closed her eyelids so it looked as though she was only sleeping. She still felt warm but Uncas knew Anna was gone; she had suffered a hemorrhage after giving life to her daughter. Death had come on swift wings and taken his Anna away.

 _In the light of the pale moon rising_  
 _I see far on the horizon into the world of night and darkness_  
 _Time has ceased but cherished memories still linger_  
 _This is the way of life and all things, we shall meet again_  
 _You are only sleeping_

* * *

 _I knew I was dying, I knew it was time. I could hear White Wolf calling to me across the water...he waited with me until the end, the one with the bow and arrows, my Uncas... he will take her of my sweet baby, raise her as his own, Alice will be her mother, she will know a family...Hawkeye will grieve for me as I will grieve for the unlived life I might have had with him but he will move on...as he must. I am like a rock stuck at the side of the stream whilst he is the river, always flowing...Chingachgook will be grandfather to my little one, he will love her, cherish her, protect her...as he did with me...White Wolf is calling me...he is so close..it is time for me to cross the water, goodbye my little one, there is nothing to fear...I will always be with you...just out of sight but I will be there..._

The glade was silent as Uncas emerged from the trees carrying Anna's body in his arms. He had been forced to leave her whilst he took her child back to the village, then leaving her in the care of Fala he returned for Anna. He felt as though his spirit had left his body and was watching from above as he placed one foot infront of the other. Uncas couldn't bring himself to look at his brother who was standing with the other men, his face a stark white and tears ran down his cheeks from unblinking eyes. He was not blind, he had known himself his brother has begun to favour Anna but what did it matter now? She was dead and he still could not make sense of that. But he would honour Anna's final wishes. The child would know of Anna and White Wolf, but he would raise her as his own.

* * *

 ** _One Year Later_**

"You would be proud of Isi, Anna. She's already tryin' to walk. Alice says no matter how many times she falls down, she's right back up...I reckon she gets her stubbornness from you" Hawkeye laughed to himself as his fingers traced over the wooden cross that marked Anna's grave. "..why did you have to go Anna? when..when is was jus' the beginning of somethin' for us...you ought to be here still..with me..with Isi..."

Uncas had settled on the name Isi for Anna's baby which meant deer in their native tongue. She had big brown eyes, much like Anna's but Hawkeye could see a hint of White Wolf in her too. Alice had given birth to a healthy baby boy and they had named him Wakamani. Next to Anna's grave, they had erected another cross for White Wolf's though there was no body to bury. Uncas and Alice visited often with Isi, laying wild flowers for both Anna and White Wolf. Hawkeye had seen Uncas sometimes visit Anna's grave in the dead of the night but whatever he said to her remained just between them. His Pa had taken Anna's death hard, he had been filled with regret but he doted on Isi, carving figures of animals out of wood for her to play with. He had carved one of a deer and Isi carried it everywhere with her.

"We miss you Anna...we all miss you" Hawkeye said quietly as he watched the sunset dying with the rising of the moon.

 _"Her absence seemed a solid thing, a burden I must carry in addition to my grief... Yet I knew I would continue to live."_

― Robin Hobb

* * *

 _Gosh. We have come to the end of Unforgiven. And what a journey it has taken me on. This was a really hard chapter for me to write..to say goodbye to Anna but I felt this was the right way to finish my story. I have to thank everyone for your constant support and love of this story...I did not even expect half of this sort of reaction. It's really great to see there is a strong fanbase still out there for last of the mohicans and I hope I did it justice with my story. There may a few people that may resent the ending, as it is a bittersweet one. Anna's death was a tragic one but I didn't want it all to be sad, there is still hope in that Anna and White Wolf's child lived and will be brought up in a home surrounded by those who loved and cared for her mother. Anna is not really gone..she is just somewhere else now and with White Wolf. The little monologue I wanted to input as Anna's final farewell, that she knew she was going to die but that was okay as she knew her daughter would be safe and well looked after by the man she loved with all her heart. Anna and Uncas, a tough relationship hard to place in box but it was never meant to be. Sadly, what could have been for Hawkeye and Anna never came to pass. Often life doesn't turn out the way we want or the way we think it should._ _Blessings you all, Laura x_


End file.
